《No Money to Divorce》


 Chapter 1 - Twin Stars

    During late spring, the flowers in school had already begun to wilt.


    Adrian was leaning back on the arch of the corridor¡¯s exit with one hand in his uniform¡¯s pocket and the other swiped idly down on the floating virtual screen of his personal holographic terminal.


    ¡°Another expansion! ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ feathers will soon cover the Navi System! In the past 90 years, within the fifty-two systems inclusive of the capital system, the citizens from more than a hundred planets in the Federation have been enjoying an efficient and convenient life under the guidance of the second generation AI, ¡®Butterfly¡¯. The Supreme Council announced at a press conference today that the Navi System, located within the most remote corners of the Federation¡¯s star map, would finally usher in a new dawn of civilization¡­¡±


    At the words, ¡°dawn of civilization¡±, Adrian snorted without any reservation. Impatiently, he opened up the comments section:


    ¡°Hooray! The Federation is finally complete!¡±


    ¡°The Navi System is finally returning to Butterfly¡¯s control. I heard it¡¯s poor and chaotic there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only place that¡¯s not under Butterfly¡¯s management?¡ªthere¡¯s fugitives running all over the place. Relying on human governance without AI surveillance, that place is simply a criminal¡¯s paradise! Could it not be chaotic?¡±


    ¡°What??? Am I transmigrating into the ancient Earth period? There are still places not governed by AI??? How do they even live?¡±


    ¡°Stop embarrassing people if you¡¯ve never experienced it! Isn¡¯t that an exaggeration? ¡®Butterfly¡¯ was implemented only ninety years ago. Didn¡¯t people still carry on living before that even without ¡®Butterfly¡¯?¡±


    ¡°But there was ¡®Cocoon¡¯ ninety years ago! These two generations of AIs combined have already been managing the Federation for more than two millennia! If you go even further, that¡¯s already the ancient period!¡±


    ¡°Commenter above is obviously from the capital. The last generation¡¯s ¡°Cocoon¡± did not cover the entire Federation, only the area around the capital system.¡±


    ¡°This is also the first time I found out that there are regions managed by people¡­then how do you work and get married?¡±


    ¡°They just get random jobs and get married casually, why else do you think the Navi System is falling so far behind?¡±


    ¡°For the sake of boasting about their wicked little moth, the Supreme Council has even thrown away their common sense. Can you even call those butterfly flaps feathers?¡±


    ¡°Where the hell did this braindead AI anti come from? Without AI, you¡¯d be even less than garbage!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Bored, Adrian continued to swipe through several pages, and sure enough, it was filled with abuse.


    The Federation of today consisted of fifty-three star systems, and the inhabited planets within that numbered over a hundred. The capital system, alongside several other developed systems nearby, had already been under the management of the second generation super artificial intelligence ¡°Butterfly¡± for over ninety years, and the fifty-second system to enter ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± control range had already been within it for thirty seven years. The Navi System was truly too far away, and it was also due to some complicated historical issues that matters had been dragging on till now.


    And right now, was this last system going to¡­fall as well?


    Adrian gave the ¡°wicked little moth¡± comment a like and turned off the news.


    Thanks to AI, life as a human came with practically no privacy at all; be it in reality or on the net, all your actions were transparent. Soon, the major media outlets will have to post a news release: From the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution, one Adrian Yate of the Twin Stars, liked a comment written in criticism towards ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    But Adrian did not care about that. As he came close to graduation, he became one of the most highly observed youngsters who was set to enter society this semester. Countless people watched over his each and every move, and he had long since gotten used to this. Though he was the eldest son of the traditional and ancient Yate family, he had repeatedly expressed his position of being against artificial intelligence ever since entering college, standing on opposite sides against his own family as well as the Supreme Council. Though the young master had yet to officially set foot in society, his name had long since been known throughout the entire Federation.


    ¡­¡­


    A class had just ended, and a group of lower grade students came out through the arch.


    Amongst them, a few girls were constantly peeking over at Adrian, grinning secretly and laughing as they nudged each other playfully. Soon, one of those lively girls came over and asked, ¡°Senior Yate, are you waiting for President Zhong?¡±


    Adrian gave her a broad smile, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°So romantic!¡±


    As they continued to whisper and gossip with each other, the girls left. Finally, Adrian¡¯s mood improved¡ªthe President Zhong that they had mentioned was the person he was awaiting, Zhong Yan.


    Another legendary figure within the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution, a young civilian orphan with no family background but still achieved an eye-opening high score, bringing him into the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution. After entering the school, his performance was still dazzling, and he was elected as the Student Council¡¯s President in his second year. While dealing with the various chores from the school, he was still able to maintain his position as the first in his major. Alongside the chief student representative of the military division, Adrian Yate, they were given the nickname of the Twin Stars.


    Everyone was making their guesses; they were the Supreme Institution¡¯s Twin Stars, where were these two big names of the Federation going to go after they graduate?


    ¡°President.¡± His seatmate jabbed silently at Zhong Yan with the tip of his touch screen pen. ¡°Your Chief Yate is waiting for you outside.¡±


    Yan Chen glanced at their unceasing professor and whispered, ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I saw it in the school forum. Sending it over to you¡ª¡±


    Zhong Yan adjusted the transparency of the holographic screen in front of him, turning on his own personal terminal secretly, and clicking into the campus forum link his seatmate had just sent to him.


    ¡°#TwinStars Caught a Senior Yate who was waiting for President Zhong: photo.jpg¡±


    Zhong Yan did not read the comments. Instead, he scrutinized the photo for a little bit.


    Three years ago, when he first met Adrian, they were both only seventeen years old. The seventeen-year-old Adrian was dressed in a brand-new school uniform, surrounded by a few schoolmates from affluent families. There was that smile in his eyes that looked both distant and courteous; it was only until Zhong Yan appeared that his eyes brightened, and he shouted, ¡°Zhong Yan!¡±


    Thanks to the highly developed modern network, the full body image of that year¡¯s top scorer was spread over every corner of the Federation as soon as the results were announced. In an instant, the public was loud with opinion, and everyone was bustling in discussion about the orphan identity and shocking beauty of the new champion.


    In contrast, the second place of the year seemed to be left out. And so, he paid special attention to the number two, Adrian Yate, who had been suppressed before he had even entered school, and this was also the reason why he recognized him at first sight.


    At seventeen, Zhong Yan had none of the tact that he had today, but due to his own innate character, he was still unperturbed. Standing under the watchful gaze of those affluent kids, he nodded his head in greeting, ¡°Hello, Mr. Yate.¡±


    ¡°Just call me Adrian.¡± The earlier uppity grand young master seemed as if he was a whole other person; he was both passionate and easygoing. ¡°We¡¯re from the same dorm, let me bring you there.¡±


    Zhong Yan followed him, but not before turning to face the crowd of young master and misses with distorted expressions and saying, ¡°Please excuse me.¡±


    For a very long time, Zhong Yan had always thought that Adrian had done this out of some unmentioned intentions, but he later found out that this was just how the great young master Adrian was in general¡ªif he did not like them, or did not stand in the same footing as them, then he would not even bother to put on a decent expression, nor would he care about whether his actions would embarrass those people or not. In his own words: ¡°The coolest and most good-looking person is my roommate, why should I care about that lot?¡±


    Three years have passed since then. That handsome young man in the photo had long faded away from his youth of that year. The lines and curves of his gruff features were very majestic when he was not smiling, but he would never not be, just like in that candid photo of his: A light smile played by the corners of his lips, and a pink petal had fallen on his black hair. Completely oblivious to that fact, his head was dropped down to view the screen of his own personal terminal; his silver irises, a specialty of the Yate Family, were hidden beneath his half-lidded gaze, and his thoughts were unperceivable.


    The photo was posted in the gossip section, and it was easy to figure out what people would say in the comments section. Through the past three years, the ¡°TwinStars¡± tag contributed to about one-fourth of the threads in the school forum¡¯s gossip board. Without even bothering to look at it, Zhong Yan shut off his terminal screen.


    In a hushed voice, he said to his seatmate, ¡°Stop looking at the forum, this professor has really sharp eyes.¡±


    Even though he was reluctant, his seatmate shut off his screen as well, and said, ¡°I¡¯m almost inclined to believe what all these girls are saying. Say, are you two really¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not.¡± Zhong Yan responded.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Sorry for making you wait!¡± Zhong Yan was slightly panting. ¡°We haven¡¯t finished going through our topic, so the professor dragged it on for a while¡­¡±


    Adrian took his bag and slipped it over his own shoulder while he rested his other arm around his shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you didn¡¯t have to run.¡±


    Zhong Yan smiled at him, ¡°I was worried I kept you waiting too long.¡±


    Since he had ran over from class, Zhong Yan¡¯s usually fair face was now laced with a light tinge of red. Adrian watched him; his usual appearance that had already been quite delicate and handsome now seemed even younger; not looking much at all like a young man at the age of twenty. Instead, he looked like a new student who was only sixteen going on seventeen.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± Zhong Yan fixed his clothes. ¡°The cameras are coming.¡±


    Adrian came back to his senses and finally saw the pair of daily patrol cameras around the area. After having identified a pair of students who were loitering around, they descended steadily to their height and were zooming over, one in the front and the other at the back.


    Adrian struck a pose for the small spherical cameras that were heading their way, and the two broke out in laughter. Walking side by side, they headed back to the dorms.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Adrian Yate!¡±


    The sound of cheering burst out in the hall, which was enough to prove how popular the aforementioned person was. Adrian jumped up onto the stage in one smooth movement, and clearly this move was a little informal for the solemn occasion.


    But very quickly, nobody bothered with the issue of his etiquette any longer. They watched as he reached the centre of the stage in a few quick steps, and without even waiting for the huge virtual screen behind him to announce the results, he announced in resolution, ¡°I refuse the optimal career proposal of the AI. As for the fine, please send me the bill, thank you.¡±


    The amplifying system on the stage caused his voice to resound throughout the auditorium of the Supreme Institution, ¡°Fellow friends! I will see you again in Navi!¡±


    The sounds of the crowd¡¯s reactions¡ªcheers, whistles, and the voices of doubts¡ªwere intertwined into a large ruckus. Adrian jumped off the stage in high spirits, bumped shoulders and shared a hug with his classmates from the military division, and turned back to see the very last student on stage.


    The legendary Student Council President, Zhong Yan.


    When Zhong Yan refuses the AI¡¯s proposal¡­Adrian watched that person standing on that stage with a smile on his face: A young man who had just turned twenty, with his black hair and black eyes, his fair skin and red lips, a beauty as grand as a painting. Very soon now, just a few more seconds¡ª


    Zhong Yan glanced at the optimal career proposal displayed on the screen. He looked neither below the stage, nor at anyone, and he did not even seem to have considered quite as long as most other students.


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    The crowd roared. Half of them were whispering and gossiping, while the others looked towards Adrian.


    Adrian¡¯s smile had been replaced with a look of astonishment. Only then did he remember to look at the words on the virtual screen. On it displayed the position Zhong Yan had just accepted: Capital Star, Supreme Council, Member.


    For more than two hundred years, this was the council that single-handedly pushed forth the AI project. This was the Supreme Council, also known as the ¡°Butterfly Cabinet¡±.


    In that instant, rage burned through his limbs.


    ¡°Boss¡­Um, about that plan, are we still moving forward?¡± His diehard brother, Fayn, asked in a stutter.


    Adrian glared at Fayn with utmost coldness in his eyes, and under the gazes and chatter of the scene, he left the graduation ceremony indignantly.


    He went straight to his dormitory and grabbed his luggage. Without even waiting for the graduation ceremony to end, much less for Zhong Yan¡¯s return, he left the school alone.


    With that farewell, it had been seven long years, and they had not seen each other since.

 Chapter 2 - Reunited Where We Once Met

    Adrian sat up from his bed with a splitting headache.


    He had dreamt of Zhong Yan again. Standing high on that platform, he spoke, with that usual expression on his face, ¡°I accept¡±, shattering all the ridiculous fantasies of he who stood beneath that stage.


    Adrian sat in the dark, taking a while off to recover from his emotions before he called for his personal terminal to check the time. Several fluorescent numbers floated above his wrist¡ªit was only five in the morning.


    The culprit of his nightmares was scattered on the small platform above his headboard; an opened letter¡ªnot a virtual letter, it was written on real paper.


    This sort of thing was practically extinct these days. You may be able to find it in a museum, but the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution had always flaunted their ¡°old traditions¡±, so this was not his first performance art experience from them.


    Such a well-crafted envelope had been violently torn open by someone without a care in the world. Half of the words printed out in artificial ink were revealed:


    ¡°To your Excellency, General Commander of the Navi Military Command, Adrian Yate:


    ¡°In the blink of an eye, it has been seven years since we last met. As our dear graduate of the 91st batch of our Supreme Institution, we hope everything has been going smoothly for you since leaving your alma mater.


    ¡°The stars are ever-changing, and knowledge is eternal. For a century, the name of the Supreme Institution has been kept high, and we have always been delivering the highest talents of our institute to every corner of the Federation. Today, the oldest and most traditional institute in the Federation ushers in her 100th birthday. We sincerely invite you, our most valued alumni, to return home this December to visit us and to attend the 100th anniversary of your alma mater, as well as our 98th graduation ceremony.


    ¡°Please approach us following the detailed guide below¡­¡±


    Indeed, it had been many years since Adrian had last visited his alma mater. Frankly, his three years in the Supreme Institution could be considered the happiest three years in all his twenty-seven years of living; but no matter how happy those three years had been, the final full stop given to him by Zhong Yan was the most hurtful moment of his student days.


    He and Zhong Yan were practically inseparable in school. Everyone knew this, so even the footage of their final graduation ceremony were spread across the Federation. Since his first years of entering the Navi System, people have constantly been trying to inquire about his relationship with Zhong Yan. Until¡ªeveryone who had been making jokes about him and Zhong Yan were thrown into the intensive care unit. Everyone now understood how deep this ever-smiling young master¡¯s hatred was for this friend he had in his student days.


    Later, Adrian rose up through the ranks, and right now, nobody dared to bring up the kryptonite of the General Commander of the Navi Military Command in front of him any longer, for fear of not being able to withstand the retaliation of this man who always seemed so unreserved.


    The sun was rising soon. Adrian was in a bad mood and couldn¡¯t sleep anymore, so he decided to just get up from bed.


    Thinking about it, he must have piled up a lot of pending work in his personal terminal during his nightmare. Adrian grabbed himself a refreshing drink and connected his terminal to the large virtual screen in front of his desk before taking a sip.


    ¡°Today¡¯s headlines: Counselor Zhong Yan¡¯s attendance to the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Institute has been confirmed!¡±


    ¡°Read more: Behind the legendary Counselor Zhong Yan, the youngest of the 12 Members of the Supreme Council: ¡­¡±


    Adrian stared at the exaggerated headline title, and his eyes fell on that recurring name. He had already gone past that age where he would resort to dealing with all his problems with his fists, and had also long been accustomed to seeing how that person¡¯s name was frequently reported on the news just like his own. But what was rare, was the name Zhong Yan appearing once more with his alma mater right behind it, and he still could not help but feel his anger rising.


    Anger burst forth from the depths of his chest like repressed magma that had been brewing for ages. Slowly but steadily, it was drowning out his reason.


    Adrian put down his cup and dialed the number of his deputy, Fayn.


    Clearly, Fayn¡¯s mind was still in dreamland; he asked in an incoherent mutter, ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°Boss?!¡± Fayn¡¯s mind cleared up in an instant, and he asked nervously, ¡°What happened? Did something happen at this hour?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s something. Contact the school right now and tell them that I¡¯ll be accepting their invitation. And not just me, all of us in the Navi Military Command who have received the invitation are accepting.¡±


    Fayn could not believe what he had just heard. Everyone knew that within the Navi Military Command, any words relating to ¡°Supreme Institution¡± or ¡°school¡± were taboo because it would inevitably be associated with him. And just because of that, none of his old school buddies dared to even mention the Supreme Institution¡¯s hundred year anniversary. After receiving it, all of them pretended they never even saw it. But now, at five in the morning, his immediate superior had called him personally, asking him to contact the school¡­


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Fayn cautiously confirmed, ¡°Which school am I contacting?¡±


    ¡°Which do you think?¡±


    The voice transmitting through his terminal sounded very calm. But the more it sounded so, the more astonishing it was for Fayn. After being colleagues for so many years, he understood this old schoolmate of his way too much; the calmer Adrian appeared on the outside, the more earth-shattering the outburst would be in the end.


    ¡°Calm down, I just saw the news earlier¡ªI don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to pick a fight with a member of the Supreme Council during the celebration.¡±


    ¡°This is an order, Mr. Deputy.¡± Adrian spoke in a chilly voice and hung up.


    No, of course he¡¯s not going there to fight. He¡¯s just¡­


    Adrian sat down, and closed the news window.


    Once again, he had miscalculated the upper limits of Zhong Yan¡¯s heartlessness. After three years of friendship, Zhong Yan could say ¡°I accept¡± in front of the whole school without any hesitation. And now, how could he accept the invitation of his alma mater so calmly? Perhaps, in the heart of the person, that incident had long been pushed to the back of his mind. That was why he was so calm, so at peace, and not at all afraid of touching back to that moment.


    In that case, it was only natural that he must not show weakness.


    ¡­¡­


    This was an era without secrets.


    The second generation AI ¡°Butterfly¡± kept a thorough watch over every aspect of human life. Patrol cameras patrolled any area with any present signs of civilization all year round, and there was no need to mention the virtual world; it was completely covered with Butterfly¡¯s feelers. This was an era that was safe, convenient, efficient, and¡­


    Boring.


    Perhaps only one corner was different. In the most remote corners of space, the primary star of the Navi System, Navi Star, is the only autonomous human, non AI region in the civilized world today. Ten years ago, the Navi System was synonymous with the words danger, chaos, and archaic; today, more and more young people are calling it the last pure land left for mankind.


    And right now, the Navi System¡¯s name was also closely linked with the name of Adrian Yate.


    The entire Federation knew how the youngest member of the Yate family graduated from the military division of the Supreme Institution with a record-breaking high score, and his high-profile rejection of ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± proposal, resolutely bringing himself towards the Navi Military Command. In addition to Adrian himself, there was more than one military graduate who followed in his footsteps in that batch; and for a period of time, the mainstream media outlets were criticizing Adrian for the damages caused by his actions.


    On the contrary, Zhong Yan, who had entered the Supreme council in a low-profile manner and was loyal to ¡°Butterfly¡±, became the media¡¯s darling. With a handsome face, poise, and the background of a parentless orphan, he was rewarded a good reputation with the people, and he was also much loved within the Supreme Council. He went up the ranks in amazing speed; in just seven years, he had already climbed up to the rank of one of the twelve elected members, becoming one of the twelve most powerful people in the Federation.


    In direct proportion to his promotion speed, the winds of public trend changed just as quickly¡ªthroughout the years, all sorts of scandals have constantly been exposed from an anonymous account. The AI stopped purging them, and instead called for discussion towards the conspiracy theories about the collusion of several high-ranking humans holding rights and power.


    The concept of ¡°anonymity¡± was quite inconceivable in this era, and it was guaranteed that anyone who could achieve it would not be your average citizen. With that, it added even more to the credibility of these rumours. In any case, the new generation of youngsters were not as devoutly convinced about AIs. Quite a lot amongst them wanted to focus on personal privacy and the restoration of human autonomy. And for that, Navi System that was not subject to the AI seemed to be the ideal place to be.


    Adrian¡¯s popularity was rising, and many people who were against AI regarded him as their idol. And with the knowledge of him and Zhong Yan¡¯s association and falling out known through the world, it caused the fans of both parties to be particularly sensitive whenever they met one another. When it came to this time when both of them have already climbed their ways up to the peak, the virtual community was growing even more turbulent.


    It was not hard to imagine how the entire Federation had boiled over with commotion. In an instant, the topic of the school¡¯s celebration that had originally received even less attention than the ¡°Discovery of Wild Giant Space Rabbits in Glory System¡± became the hottest topic in an instant.


    ¡­¡­


    After a lapse of seven years, Zhong Yan once again stood on the soils of Institution Star.


    The Supreme Institution was not only a school, it was also one of the few artificial planets in the world. Now, this little planet could be described as being covered in stars and resplendence, and today, in a sight that was hard to come by, people from all walks of life gathered together in one large hall. Before Zhong Yan had even entered through the gates of the institution, a crowd of ¡°senior brothers and sisters¡± had already gathered around him.


    From those who graduated from batches later than his, only a few held positions high enough that the school would specifically make an invitation to them themselves. Even if there were a few outstanding juniors in the mix¡­following the current trend of the public, most of such youngsters would not even wish to make any contact with a counselor such as him.


    But no matter the opinions of these young people, it was still an indisputable fact that he played a vital role in the Capital; the group of middle-aged people making utmost efforts to exchange pleasantries with him was solid proof of that.


    Zhong Yan averted his eyes and socialized with them uneasily. From what the others could see, he was only holding up his identity, unwilling to speak much; but only he knew¡­


    It had been seven years, seven years since he made that run after the graduation ceremony, only to return himself into an empty dormitory room; seven years have passed.


    He thought he had been able to adjust his own emotions, and would not be affected by coming back to this place.


    Suddenly, a clamour began not far away. Zhong Yan looked up and saw a few young officers in black military uniforms lined with gold accents coming over to him. In the middle of them stood a tall, black haired man with silver eyes, dressed in a military uniform reserved for the one who stood in the highest position, enhancing his looks of frosty reservation; But he was a man who kept a smile on his lips at all times. With his head faced towards his side, he was speaking with the officer standing to his right, appearing to be in quite a good mood.


    The entrance to the school that had just been bustling with sound was now dead silent¡ªthe men of the Navi Military Command have arrived.

 Chapter 3 - Specimen Store

    With the sound of Adrian¡¯s illustrious name, the people who had just clamoured to be in front of Zhong Yan were now silently stepping back; none of them wanted to be caught in the possible flames of battle. Nobody dared to go up to them to say anything as these two were no longer the youngsters who had just graduated from the school, they were now heavyweights with enough authority to blot out the sun with just their hands, so nobody would dare to incur the wrath of any of them just for a moment of exhilaration.


    Everyone was continuing their absent-minded chatter within their own circles, but whether it was intentional or not, their gazes would still be turned towards the two who were going nearer and nearer to each other. Nobody wanted to miss the opportunity to see a spectacular show, so they were all waiting for the reunion of the two after seven years. The curiosity, tension, and gloating in the air was so thick that it was nearly materializing, and they were all pressing down heavily on the formally-dressed Zhong Yan.


    The men of the Navi Military Command walked right past him, heading straight towards the campus. The man at the center of them did not even spare him a mere glance.


    Zhong Yan fell into a daze for a moment; he had thought that Adrian would mock or snide him, swear at him, or even¡­He would not admit that deep down, he still had a small hope or fantasy, hopes that maybe Adrian would come over and ask for a chat with him, and they may possibly even be reconciled in the end.


    But through all that, he never thought that Adrian would just ignore him.


    It has been seven years. He has seen countless pieces of news that if his name was so much as mentioned in the slightest in front of Adrian, that he would definitely fly into a rage on the spot. There was also a small rumour that since Adrian had taken the position of Chief Commander, Zhong Yan¡¯s name had become a forbidden word within Navi Military Command.


    So why was the Adrian now, who had seen the man in question, not angry? Zhong Yan knew him well. They once lived under the same roof, and for three years, they had been intimate friends. He once believed that he knew Adrian better than anyone else in this world, but he could not be so sure anymore. The Adrian he knew of was a spoiled young master who would never wrong himself by keeping his anger in. Seven years has been far too long, Zhong Yan could no longer guess the thoughts in this man¡¯s heart¡ªHas he already let go? Did he hate the idea of speaking with him? Or did he really not see him?


    Perhaps, he did not see him. Adrian Yate and Zhong Yan were once the closest of friends, but now their positions as rivals were resounding. In any case, they were people who should not have such meager reactions when bumping into each other.


    As if in denial, Zhong Yan started: ¡°Ade.¡±


    His voice was not very loud, and he thought he would never hear him, but that man turned around.


    He had clearly been smiling when speaking to others, but to him alone, that smile was gone. His silver eyes had sealed off all his emotions with frost, exposing only an inorganic glow.


    The adjutant by his side¡ªZhong Yan remembered him, this was Adrian¡¯s friend, Fayn from the same batch as them¡ªquietly caught Adrian¡¯s arm and whispered something in his ear.


    Zhong Yan could not hear him clearly, but Adrian heard it loud and clear. Fayn whispered to him, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash, there are at least six airborne cameras locked onto you, and I¡¯m very sure more than one of them is broadcasting live¡­¡±


    Adrian broke free from his hands impatiently and said, ¡°Counselor Zhong Yan, you should be referring to me as ¡®Commander Yate¡¯.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face paled as he watched him, disbelief flowing out from his slender phoenix eyes.


    A malicious thrill was surging within Adrian¡¯s heart; he had not had enough, and thus continued, ¡°Remember that. Don¡¯t let me catch you calling me by that name ever again, it¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    The very last trace of blood drained from Zhong Yan¡¯s face. He responded, ¡°All right.¡±


    But Adrian did not even wait to hear his answer; after throwing out that last sentence, he had already turned to leave without any hesitation.


    After meeting with the reception staff from the school, they had a long break before the ceremony officially began. Adrian and Fayn broke away from the other invited guests from the army, and began to stroll through their school that they had not seen in a long while. Due to what they¡¯ve heard about the Navi Military Command behind Adrian that was said to be able to compete with the Capital, none of the reception attendants dared to stop them. In addition, everyone had already passed through the strict security check after landing on Institution Star. Patrol cameras were also laid across the entire school, so they figured that no accidents would happen. Thus, with one eye closed, the reception attendants decided not to bother them.


    The two were chatting idly the whole way, and seemed as if they were unintentionally walking down a sparsely populated path. Fayn¡¯s eyes swept towards the only camera at the end of the path. He reached out to pick a flower on a low-hanging branch and brought it to Adrian.


    ¡°This flower looks pretty nice,¡± he signaled Adrian towards his hand. ¡°What¡¯s it called? Let¡¯s see if we can plant it back in Navi Star as well. I wonder if it¡¯s easy to take care of.¡±


    He positioned his back to the camera to create a dead angle, and opened up his palm to reveal an address written down in pen.


    All virtual data transmissions were monitored, so the safest way to transfer information would only be the antiquated physical way.


    Adrian looked down at it for two seconds, and the smile on his lips froze.


    Fayn took his hand back and asked in curiosity, ¡°What is it? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure¡­this is the one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sure.¡± Fayn took another look at the position of the camera. They were still within recording distance of it, so he could not say too much. Instead, he could only ask, ¡°What¡¯s not right about this one?¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°Nothing. I don¡¯t like flowers, don¡¯t plant any.¡±


    Fayn shrugged and tossed the flower away.


    When they left the path, Fayn returned to meet up with someone else. Alone, Adrian walked towards the location pinpointed by the address.


    This was an address that he was familiar with. The campus was not split up for the first years in the Supreme Institution. At that time, both he and Zhong Yan would agree to meet up at a fixed place everyday when their classes were over before heading back to the dorms together. The place they chose was a vendor for fresh juice. During that one year, he would order two cups of juice everyday and await for Zhong Yan¡¯s class to end; or perhaps, whenever he reached the store, he would find that Zhong Yan was already waiting for him with two cups of juice.


    The shop allowed one to choose a mix of three types of different fruits, with special seasonal fruits available each season. In that one year, they had tasted nearly every permutation and combination possible at that store; by the end of it, they had already gotten to know the flavors each of them loved and hated like it was the back of their palms. Those days were the happiest moments he had ever been through in his entire first year at the Supreme Institution.


    And now, his adjutant had just informed him that this was the address of the largest stronghold for a civil resistance organization towards artificial intelligence within Institutional Star.


    Adrian¡¯s conjecture was verified when he arrive; that juice shop that was opened in the corner of the commercial district was really closed down¡ªTo be honest, that store had not been very popular during the days when he was still in school. He and Zhong Yan were practically the only regular customers they had¡ªAnd now, it was currently a specimen store with the sign ¡°Realistic Specimen Viewing¡± hung on top.


    The display cabinets that presented the colourful fruits from the different star systems were now replaced with transparent cylinders of different sizes, with various lifelike animals inside of them. With business to handle, Adrian had no time to lament over the changing times. He rang the bell at the front desk.


    ¡°Welco¡­Oh, it¡¯s Senior Yate!¡±


    Quite clearly, the girl who came out from the door behind the counter was a student worker, even the badge of the Supreme Institution could be seen displayed in front of her chest. She recognized Adrian and a look of joyful surprise emerged from her face. ¡°Did you come to buy specimens?¡±


    Adrian smiled to her. ¡°Hello, I¡¯ve booked a course for making specimens.¡±


    The smile on the girl¡¯s face beamed with even greater sincerity. ¡°So that¡¯s the case. Our specimen course is very popular, may I know which particular course you¡¯ve booked?¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°The insect specimen course.¡±


    The girl nodded and operated the virtual screen on the counter for a while. Then, she made a gesture towards the door behind her. ¡°Your appointment has been confirmed, please come with me. And please rest assured, we are especially skilled in creating¡­insect specimens.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Zhong Yan looked away from the words ¡°Realistic Viewing Specimens¡±. The glass storefront had not been replaced, so the animal specimens could be faintly seen through the door, and there were a few animals that clearly had fur.


    Zhong Yan frowned. He did not enter, and instead turned to leave.


    He had always loved furry animals, so he felt quite uncomfortable looking at these specimens.


    But before he could get far, someone had opened the door. The enthusiastic voice of a girl rung out from behind him. ¡°Goodbye Senior Yate, come visit again whenever you¡¯re free!¡±


    A familiar low-pitched voice of a man could then be heard with a trace of amusement in his tone. ¡°Alright, definitely.¡±


    Zhong Yan turned around and saw a man dressed in a black and gold military uniform walking out from the store. The moment he noticed him, the smile on that man¡¯s face faded away like the tide, leaving behind only a cold face.


    That girl from the school had also recognized the one standing not far away. She saw the complexion of Adrian¡¯s face and tried to get herself out of the awkward picture. ¡°Well, Senior Yate, I¡¯ll be¡­returning to the store now.¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Adrian started slowly, ¡°It¡¯s a rare occasion to meet Counselor Zhong Yan here, let me present him with a gift.¡±


    The girl stared at him with wide eyes, and her entire face was saying: Have you gone mad?


    Zhong Yan stood without saying a single word, waiting for him to continue.


    ¡°Do you have any rabbit specimens? The larger the better.¡±


    Hearing that, the girl¡¯s face was filled with tension. Before Zhong Yan had become a member of the House of Representatives, he had been working hard to strengthen the laws against the hunting of giant space rabbits. And now, Adrian wanted to give him a dead rabbit, and he said the larger the better¡­She thought that Adrian had only made a deliberate jab at Zhong Yan because he had heard of that bill, but she would never know¡ªOnly Adrian knew how obsessed Zhong Yan was towards the creatures they call giant space rabbits.


    Only the two of them knew, and this little secret that belonged only to them had now become the sharpest blade; its cuts would not draw any blood, but it hurt just the same.


    Zhong Yan averted his gaze. ¡°No need, thank you for your¡­kind intentions.¡±


    He could not bear to stay any longer, and turned to leave. From behind him, he could hear Adrian apologizing to that girl with a tone that was even gentler than usual, and he even said, ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, please just call me Adrian.¡±


    The ceremony was about to begin and he was going to be late. Zhong Yan thought about it with indifference; he was now one of the twelve people who stood at the peak of human power, so he was placed amongst the most eye-catching seat for the guests. He could not be late.


    He quickened his steps and walked away from the specimen store.

 Chapter 4 - News of Marriage

    ¡°Did you¡­and that guy¡­fight?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Adrian sat down next to Fayn and frowned. ¡°Why do you always think that I¡¯m going to hit him?¡±


    While the school principal was still making his speech, Fayn covered his mouth with the commemorative album so that he would not be caught by the cameras, and said, ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who thinks that! The principal had just started talking and that guy suddenly entered with red eyes, looking like he¡¯s about to cry, and then you came in a few minutes later¡­what happened between the two of you just now?¡±


    Adrian snorted: ¡°With red eyes? Your imagination is running rampant.¡±


    Fayn rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Everyone saw it! You can replay the recording when we get back if you don¡¯t believe me. A few cameras hovered over to him just as he came in, so you can watch it from any angle you want. Let me tell you, the virtual community is like a wildfire right now. Nobody¡¯s talking about what the principal is saying, they¡¯re all trying to guess what the two of you were doing¡ªDid you really not hit him? Then what¡¯s he crying for?¡±


    Adrian frowned and subconsciously felt the need to refute: No, of course he wouldn¡¯t cry if I¡¯d hit him, Zhong Yan is definitely not the type of person who would shed tears from physical pain.


    But he swallowed those words down just as they reached his lips.


    ¡°Nothing, we just bumped into each other and said a few words.¡±


    He thought back to it for a moment; they really did just say a few words, and Zhong Yan had only responded with a single sentence! Though, he didn¡¯t pass his few cents directly to Zhong Yan.


    Clearly, his deputy did not believe him. He snorted, ¡°Come on, do you think you can really make a representative counselor cry with just a few words?¡±


    Adrian stared coldly at Fayn, and the latter was given a shock by the complete lack of warmth in his silver eyes. Suddenly, he had a realization: he had just violated a great taboo¡ªmentioning Zhong Yan repeatedly.


    ¡°How is it any of my business whether he¡¯s laughing or crying? Did you forget how he treated me right here, right at this very hour, seven years ago? Fayn, you were sitting right beside me then just like right now! Zhong Yan, that guy, he¡¯s¡­¡± Adrian gnashed his teeth and spat out each syllable one by one, ¡°Com-plete-ly heartless!¡±


    Fayn nodded nervously. Those sitting right around them were all part of Adrian¡¯s clique, and were all the current officers of the Navi Military Command. Everyone had originally perked their ears with great interest, but when they saw their commander breaking out in rage, all of them quickly averted their eyes and ears; suddenly, they felt great interest in the principal¡¯s speech.


    His ears were finally at peace, but Adrian could not restrain himself from mulling over what he said¡­Zhong Yan cried? What was he crying about?


    He knew that Zhong Yan was a very sensitive person, and could become upset over one thing for quite a long time, but he would rarely see such a fluctuation in emotions with Zhong Yan. At the very least, he had never seen Zhong Yen bawl, laugh out loud, nor fly into a rage in all his three years of studying here. This black-haired and black-eyed youngster seemed to always be composed, reserved, and decent; it was hard to believe that such quality of nurture could come from an orphanage.


    Without knowing it, Adrian was looking towards the guest table for the School of Social Sciences.


    Seated in the seat of honor was the aged patriarch of the Yate family, Adrian¡¯s grandfather, Stalvern Yate. The Yate family was a traditional pro-AI family, and during the past two centuries in the development of artificial intelligence, the Yate family had left a great imprint on the project. It wasn¡¯t until more than ninety years ago when the first generation AI ¡°Cocoon¡± was officially retired and replaced by the newer and stronger ¡°Butterfly¡±, that artificial intelligence had officially begun to take full control of human society. The fame of this family who had consistently embraced the use of AI had also reached its peak.


    In the eyes of many, nature still had to run its due course, the popularity of this family had already reached its end. The current patriarch, Stalvern, had only received one proposal from ¡°Butterfly¡± in his younger days to procreate; during that time, he and his wife gave birth to a daughter, and that was Adrian¡¯s mother.


    After obeying ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± instructions to marry and procreate, Adrian¡¯s father who had been adopted into the Yate family disappeared. In despair, his mother left the world early, leaving behind only a single seedling, Adrian. However, before this seedling had time to grow, it had started to sway towards a different path: he abandoned his grandiose family background and excellent academic resume to head towards the self-destructive future of the poorest region in the Federation.


    But of course, nobody could have guessed at that time that any of this could happen. In just seven years, the cry of the public had engulfed the virtual community, and the remote and antiquated Navi System had already become a taboo existence for the Capital.


    As a result, the Yate family that was not in a good relationship with the Supreme Commander of the Navi Military Command was put into an even more awkward position. The patriarch, Stalvern, was one of the predecessors of the twelve representing members of council. Three years ago, he left the Supreme Council, which vacated a seat amongst the twelve council members, and after more than a year of evaluation, the then twenty-six year old Zhong Yan finally received ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± favour, thus taking up that position.


    There was a rumour amongst the people that it was the Yate family¡¯s patriarch that referred Zhong Yan to ¡°Butterfly¡±, thus influencing ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± final judgement. The reason why this young council member could be promoted at such an alarming rate was due to the great Yate family¡¯s dredges and support that pushed him all the way to the current results. They seemed to have decided to use this against Adrian, who stood on the other side of the Federation and may ignite a conflict with them at any time.


    It has been nearly a decade since Adrian had last seen his grandfather. Due to the differences in their positions, the social circle within the Capital Star back then was afraid of him, and his family had been disappointed in him since he entered the Supreme Institution.


    His grandfather had clearly gotten old. He was currently speaking to Zhong Yan who sat to his right, and he appeared to be speaking to him with a very gentle attitude¡ªhe had never even shown such kindness to his own grandchildren¡ªZhong Yan was also listening to him with respect. Stalvern was also black-haired, so looking at them so suddenly now gave him the feeling that he and Zhong Yan were a harmonious grandfather and grandchild duo.


    Adrian scoffed. Something like ¡°leading a wolf into your own house¡± truly was something only his grandfather could do. He was not even afraid of the boat flipping over halfway through, sitting with an ungrateful wolf like Zhong Yan. Meanwhile, Zhong Yan had clearly been listening to a whole three years worth of his complaints towards that old bugger, but now he¡¯s actually turned around to work with that old fogey. As expected, he was practically born for the political life.


    On that side, the two simply exchanged a few words and kept it at that. Zhong Yan was dressed in a black formal suit, and sitting in his own seat. Looking at him, he seemed to be listening diligently to the Principal¡¯s speech, and his face looked just as usual, you could not find anything off about him at all.


    He really was a hypocrite; so Adrian thought.


    But some people were just that good at being hypocrites. Father Time seemed to be quite partial to this young man; he was already twenty-seven years old, but he still had a flawless face that was alabaster like fine white porcelain, and his eyes were still as clear and beautiful. Sitting there, he almost looked as if he had just reached twenty years old, and was a graduand waiting to receive ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± career proposal.


    How did Zhong Yan feel when he was sitting in this hall at that time? He was a person who was good with planning in the long-term, and would think carefully before he took a step. Adrian knew him too well, so he knew that his betrayal on the last day was not a sudden impulse coming from greed of power. So it must have been premediated. As for how long that plan had been brewing for, Adrian could not muster any guesses.


    Seven years ago, when he walked with Zhong Yan to this very hall with his arm over his shoulders, Zhong Yan must have foreseen their falling out that would happen in the next few hours, but no ripples could be found in his expression at all during then. And what about before that? What about the time he spread that three-dimensional holographic star map over the entire dorm room, and expressed his dreams to Zhong Yan? Had he already known then that the two of them would eventually part ways? Or perhaps even earlier, when they huddled together in bed during the first hours of sunrise, talking about their childhoods? Had Zhong Yan already planned to hear more about the Yate family, so as to lay the tiles for the path ahead of him? Or even earlier, when they had¡­just met?


    Funny, he had given so much of his feelings, even more than that of a mere friend, only to be given a slap on the face by the other; only then did he realize that Zhong Yan might not have given even a little bit of himself to him from the beginning to the end.


    Perhaps the reason why his eyes were red earlier was due to the rabbit specimen, Adrian sneered in his heart; God knows why Zhong Yan was so obsessed with those furry creatures and even fell in love with those giant space rabbits. In his opinion, those space-land amphibious rabbits were too big, stupid, and lazy too. He saw no merits in them.


    Adrian¡¯s mind drifted away. The graduation ceremony was long and boring. The criticizers and supporters of AI have been fighting against each other, and now the call for change was resounding even deeper amongst the younger generation; even this old and traditional institution was no exception. More than half of the graduates had refused ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± career proposal, and chose instead to pay the fine; this situation was nothing new in these past two years.


    A few hours into the ceremony, only the last student was left. According to tradition, the order for the graduation ceremony should be based on the total ranking list in descending order, and was concluded by the Student Council President.


    There was a commotion at the rear of where the students were gathered. Many people were whispering to each other, and the noises combined were getting louder and louder, attracting the gazes of many guests sitting in front, all wondering what had happened amongst the students.


    ¡°What,¡± Adrian said with impatience, ¡°is the Student Council President for this batch a real piece of work as well?¡±


    Fayn looked over and waved to the student who had just rejected ¡°Butterfly¡± earlier and expressed their wishes to request for a career in Navi System. That student looked to his left and right; chaos was already brewing. Everyone was busy whispering to each other, nobody cared about any rules anymore, so he ran over to the guest area.


    Before Fayn could even ask, the student told him with a strange look on his face, ¡°Adjutant Suster, here¡¯s what happened, one of the girls in the School of Social Sciences found the ceremony too boring so she turned on her terminal and was secretly looking around the virtual community. It just happened to be ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ weekly marriage proposal announcement, and you know how many people look at that every week¡­¡±


    Fayn would not have imagined ever meeting anyone to top him in longwindedness. He cut him off, ¡°Get to the point!¡±


    ¡°Counselor Zhong Yan¡¯s name appeared on the list.¡±


    When he heard this sentence, Adrian felt a heavy blow to his heart. He could not explain what it felt like; it was like a bee sting, but it also felt like he took a step on thin air, falling.


    Fayn: ¡°¡­¡± As one of the few who knew the deeper insights to the case from seven years ago, he turned subconsciously towards his friend with worry.


    ¡°What¡¯re you looking at me for!¡± Adrian snapped. The deeper implications in Fayn¡¯s eyes made him extremely annoyed, and he could no longer hold himself back. ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with me if some stupid c*** with eight generations worth of misfortune has to get married to Zhong Yan?¡±


    That student looked dumbfoundedly at Adrian, and appeared as if he wished to speak, but could not.

 Chapter 5 - Cipher

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± That student told him.


    Adrian looked at him in disbelief. ¡°What¡¯s me?¡±


    ¡°The um¡­¡± The student paused awkwardly. He did not have the guts to repeat what he had just said to Adrian, so he omitted what he previously said and went on, ¡°The optimal marriage candidate for Counselor Zhong Yan is¡­is you.¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    Fayn¡¯s eyes widened. He could no longer care about respecting the rules of the school; he went straight to opening his terminal and began checking for the newly-released marriage proposal list.


    At least half of the people in the venue were doing the same as him.


    Fayn carefully reconfirmed the Federation citizenship code right below the name ¡°Adrian Yate¡± and was speechless. ¡°My God, are the two of you trying to crash another graduation ceremony? With how many graduation ceremonies you¡¯ve ruined, the principal might have to bar you from coming back.¡±


    Adrian ignored him. He looked towards the direction of the School of Social Sciences, and it just so happened that Zhong Yan was also looking at him.


    With expressionless faces, the two met eyes for a short moment across the auditorium, and neither could see through the other¡¯s emotions. Then, Zhong Yan mouthed a word silently.


    If a lip reading expert was present, they would be able to interpret what he said as ¡°top¡±. In reality, the two words he said had been deciphered by the audience watching the live broadcast in a matter of minutes, so everyone was filled with confusion. Top? Top what?


    ¡­¡­


    Many years later, a saying popped up that gained the agreement of the majority of the virtual community. Everyone agreed that Zhong Yan knew that Adrian had learned lip reading, so he wanted to use that as a means to transmit his message that he wanted to be the one on top. But of course, this all came later.


    ¡­¡­


    The school had already begun their efforts to restore order, and the chaos gradually subsided.


    As for how the graduation ceremony came to an end, Adrian had no recollection of it at all; in fact, most of the people who were present in the ceremony were absent-minded. They were still trying to digest the shocking news they had just received, and wanted for nothing more than the speedy end of that ceremony. Then, the two who were involved could free up their hands and deal with that instead.


    Adrian did not let them down. After the principal announced the end of the graduation ceremony, the first thing he did was to login to the marriage system on his terminal and chose to refuse before even leaving the auditorium.


    ¡°Back to Navi,¡± said Adrian with a calm face.


    He did not get angry, but everyone in the military spacecraft could see that his mood was terrible. Everyone tactfully separated, and went to do their own things.


    The liaison officer walked over with the gloom of death looming over his face. He did not graduate from the Supreme Institution, so he had stayed in the spacecraft and did not participate in their school activities.


    ¡°Commander¡­we cannot leave for now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    His voice was clearly calm, but it sent chills down the liaison officer¡¯s spine. He whispered misfortune to himself for being thrown in front of the gun, and carefully explained, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten the list yet¡­the specimen store contacted me earlier and told me that a small problem had cropped up; it will take a few hours.¡±


    ¡°When can we get it?¡±


    ¡°The earliest would still be after midnight¡ªmidnight local time.¡±


    Adrian looked at the time; it would be a wait of at least three hours.


    ¡°Specimen¡± was an underground anti-AI intelligence organization. It had risen up in recent years, and had penetrated a number of different major organizations to varying degrees. They have been in contact with the Navi Military Command and cooperated with them several times, so the impression they had of each other was not bad.


    This time, Adrian came to their Supreme Institution branch to obtain a list¡ªa name list denoting the people within the faculty and staff of the Supreme Institution that was on the same side as them. They have always been cautious when passing information, so they would only pass them through a single network. Adrian wanted the liaison officer to stay, while he himself would leave first; but unfortunately, the liaison officer was not a graduate of the Supreme Institution, and had registered on landing as an accompanying member. It would bring too much attention if he were to stay here alone.


    ¡°Inform the whole crew, our return is postponed.¡± Adrian continued irritably, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a walk, don¡¯t follow me.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Midnight was coming soon.


    Zhong Yan raised his head a bit stiffly to look at the stars above him. He was still wearing a suit that did little to protect him against the wind, but he had already been standing on the rooftop for three hours.


    This was one of the corners of the School of Arts¡¯ West Wing Tower rooftop, and it was one of the rare places within the night time patrol¡¯s blindspot; it was also the ¡°top¡± he had hinted to Adrian about.


    He and Adrian had shared a book of ciphers.


    During their second year in the school, the School of Military Affairs had a sudden unprovoked closure of training for a month. They were not allowed to visit the training center during the training closure period, and the unrelated students could not go in to visit either. Secretly, they took the time at midnight when nobody was around to head towards the blindspot for a meeting. Since there were constantly people and cameras around them, it was not convenient to say any names, so they could only create a cipher book.


    ¡°When it begins, I¡¯ll wait for you on top.¡±¡ªThis meant that at midnight, they would meet at the rooftop of the West Wing Tower of the School of Arts.


    ¡°Two and a half hours after the beginning, I¡¯ll meet you below.¡±¡ª2:30 in the morning, below the School of Mechanical Engineering, warehouse no.208.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going outside an hour before the beginning, remember to prepare the control group for lab.¡±¡ªAt 11 o¡¯clock in the evening, scale the wall on the east side and head to the antique pavilion on the right; remember to bring some fresh juice from the store, the flavor I like.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    He remembered all the ciphers, all of them, but perhaps¡­Adrian did not remember them any more. But since Adrian¡¯s memory was not that bad, it was even more likely that he would remember where ¡°top¡± was, but was just no longer willing to show up to these appointments.


    It was useless no matter how clearly he remembered them, some ciphers would never work anymore. Like the ¡°laboratory¡±¡ªthat juice shop was already gone.


    Zhong Yan tried in vain to warm himself by rubbing his arms, hoping to give his body just a little bit of warmth. Today, Adrian had seen him twice and had already clearly expressed his stance towards him¡ªAdrian hates him, so much so that he was unwilling to even hear his name spoken from his lips, so much so that he would even use the secrets between them as weapons against him in front of an outsider.


    They¡¯ve hit rock bottom.


    He should not be having any fantasies. Zhong Yan covered one side of his face with his hand, and for just a few seconds, revealed an expression of utmost pain; but in the next instant, that flawless face returned to its usual indifference.


    He put his hand down. He fixed his unruffled collar, and headed towards the stairs.


    A man was currently walking up the stairwell, and they met on a narrow path.


    Adrian had already changed back to his casual dress, so it was clear to see that he had already made a trip back to Navi¡¯s warship. He put his hand in his pocket and raised his head to look up at Zhong Yan who stood a few steps above him. The look within his silver eyes were indistinct, but they were definitely not smiling.


    An awkward silence fell over the dark, narrow stairwell.


    After a long time, Adrian said, ¡°I¡¯ve already refused it.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°I came to talk to you about the fines.¡±


    The marriage system was a special one because it involved the will of two people. If both of them agreed, then naturally, they would immediately be declared legal partners by ¡°Butterfly¡±; under the circumstances where one person refuses, that person would be required to shell out five times the price of the fine; if both of them refused, then both of them would have to pay a fine. In addition, if an optimal marriage candidate wanted a divorce after marriage, they would also be considered unfavourable to society and fined.


    The amount one was fined varied from person to person. Since adhering to the optimal arrangements were considered to be a beneficial choice to society, ¡°Butterfly¡± would assess the matter based on the identity of the rejector, the scale of the rejected matter, and etcetera. The greater the adverse impacts it would evoke unto society, the higher the fine.


    ¡°I just got the assessment results, the fine is about eighty-one thousand.¡±


    Zhong Yan was a little confused, but he still responded, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite high.¡±


    Frankly, it was indeed quite high. The fines for ordinary citizens in tier three planets were generally around five thousand federation dollars, it would rarely go above ten thousand; any number above even five thousand was an extremely rare number.


    Adrian spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve checked the rules, we can¡¯t pay them separately, it has to come from one account. Just transfer forty thousand to my account and I¡¯ll deal with the rest. My account is still the same.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him in confusion, it was almost as if he could not understand what he was saying at all.


    ¡°What?¡± Seeing that he was not getting a response, Adrian made a snide remark, ¡°Has my account already been deleted because Mr. Counselor¡¯s transaction address book has gotten too full?¡±


    ¡°A¡­¡± Something clicked. Zhong Yan suddenly remembered what Adrian had said to him during the day, and swallowed the rest of the syllables back down his throat. ¡°You seem to be misunderstanding something.¡±


    ¡°Misunderstanding what?¡±


    ¡°Only under the joint refusal of marriage would the two jointly pay a fine; otherwise, the refuser has to pay five times the amount.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, I know the rules.¡±


    ¡°So why would you think we would be paying the fines the former way, and not the latter?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯d refuse, of course!¡±


    Zhong Yan revealed a look of incredulity and said, ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    Adrian was also looking at him in disbelief, ¡°Are you mad?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mad.¡± Zhong Yan slowly began, ¡°I am a member of the Supreme Council, a direct subordinate to ¡°Butterfly¡±. What benefits would I gain to refuse an order from my direct superior? I should be taking the lead in advocating ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± judgement. What would everyone in the Federation think of me if I refuse?¡±


    Adrian was so angry that he spat out a laugh. ¡°Oh, sorry, I¡¯ve forgotten, of course you wouldn¡¯t refuse any of ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± proposals. You¡¯re ready to pay¡ªlet¡¯s see here, eighty thousand times five is four hundred thousand, and that minus forty thousand equals three hundred and sixty thousand. Hah, after crunching the numbers, it does seem like a rather good deal; with just three hundred and sixty thousand, you can save your political career.¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head, and a single tuft of his impeccable hairdo fell out of place, hanging softly down by his brow, instantly softening his overly cool demeanor.


    That¡¯s right¡­Adrian stared at that tuft of hair, and suddenly thought, in this inappropriate moment, about how he had nearly forgotten how soft Zhong Yan¡¯s hair had always been.


    This overly warm memory was shattered by the person before him in the very next second.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re calculating about, but perhaps I did not make myself clear. Let me reiterate myself: I will not refuse the marriage proposal, nor will I be paying out a single cent. After all, aren¡¯t you the rejecter of this proposal?¡±


    ¡°So you told me to come over so you could tell me, that not only do you want to preserve your reputation, you¡¯re not willing to pay either? That¡¯s equivalent to asking me to shell out four hundred thousand to preserve your reputation. Is that what you¡¯re trying to tell me?¡±


    Adrian scoffed, ¡°A wonderful idea, but do you really think that¡¯s possible? Do you think that we¡¯re still stuck seven years in the past?¡±


    He was unsure if it was due to their conflict, but Zhong Yan started to feel short of breath. After working around the clock for a full day, he still had to stand in the cold winter winds for three hours; he felt that he was reaching the bottom of his physical strength. He supported himself on the handrails so as not to show any weakness, and said, ¡°If it suits you. I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    Saying that, he was just about to walk past Adrian; but the instant their shoulders brushed against each other, the sky seemed to have turned around¡ªthat angry man caught his wrist, and pushed him to the wall.

 Chapter 6 - Argument

    Adrian took a step forward. He was born with a tall stature and handsome features, so even while angry, his appearance was astonishing and gave off a feeling of oppression. The two were sticking very closely together, and even their breaths were tangled.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t settled anything yet, what are you rushing to go back for?¡± Adrian interrogated him fiercely, ¡°You¡¯re the one who called me here, and you¡¯re just going to walk off? We haven¡¯t even spoken more than a few words, what¡¯re you being impatient about?¡±


    Zhong Yan gushed with anger, ¡°Let go!¡±


    He had always stood within the circle of councilmen, where everyone was decent in speech and dress, always playing the game of intrigue to get what they wanted; he had never been trapped so violently by anyone before, so he could not fight back in time. But it was quite pitiful; not only was he a half-head shorter than Adrian, his opponent was also the highest scorer in the ranking list of the Supreme Institution¡¯s School of Military Affairs. The huge disparity in power made him unable to break free, and instead, his struggle served only to exhaust the last bit of his physical strength.


    ¡°Listen, I will not spend a single cent on you, so you will either choose to refuse, and transfer forty thousand to me, or you¡¯re going to transfer three hundred and sixty thousand to my account.¡± Adrian looked menacingly down at him from above, and his silver eyes were gleaming dimly with the fire of his wrath in the dimly lit stairwell. ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t care about your reputation, so don¡¯t even think about having me pay for you.¡±


    ¡°Let go¡­¡± said Zhong Yan through a burst of dizziness as a trace of absurdity rose up from his heart.


    They have walked through this stairwell more than a dozen times in the past. During their teen years, when they were eighteen going on nineteen, they would break into the system, scout the fields, plan routes, and even create ciphers just so they could secretly meet each other in the middle of the night. They finally succeeded in evading the school¡¯s surveillance system, so they were able to meet up during the hours past their curfew. They did not actually have anything important to say to each other, their rendezvous and their little whispers in the night were merely their daily routines. One of the professors seem to be having an affair with the director; there¡¯s a new product from the dessert shop at the School of Social Sciences¡¯ main campus building, I¡¯ll bring you some next time; my idiot classmate got caught looking at the forums in class by the professor today¡­In short, they were just enjoying the exhilaration of breaking the school¡¯s rules, but it felt to them as if they have achieved a thrilling feat, filling them with excitement, and they would never get sick of it.


    They were young then, and they never would have thought that the next time they evaded everyone to get to their secret base would be such an awkward situation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk somewhere else.¡± Zhong Yan dropped his head and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Some other time¡­I¡¯ll arrange for us to talk somewhere else some other time.¡±


    ¡°And you think I¡¯m just going to agree? I¡¯m very busy, Mr. Counselor. I have no time to shoot this sh*t with you over and over again. What¡¯s more¡ªI don¡¯t even want to see you again.¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his head abruptly, and broke out, ¡°How could you be like this?!¡±


    They were so close, and even if the light was dim, it was enough for Adrian to take a clear look¡ªZhong Yan¡¯s eyes were red.


    How could he be like that? Adrian was dumbfounded. Why does Zhong Yan look as if he was going to cry?


    ¡°We¡¯re at ¡®top¡¯ right now! Can¡¯t you say this elsewhere? How could you do this¡ªeven at ¡®laboratory¡¯ you were¡­¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s chest was heaving violently. He immediately realized his own moment of discomposure. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, sorry. What I¡¯m trying to say is, can you let go? It hurts.¡±


    What does he mean say it elsewhere? Wasn¡¯t Zhong Yan the one who asked to see him here? Adrian felt that he was simply being unreasonable. ¡°Laboratory¡±¡­? That¡¯s right, he made a joke that he wanted to send Zhong Yan a rabbit specimen at the doorway to ¡°laboratory¡± whose signs had been switched out. And as a result of that, he was informed that Zhong Yan looked to have been crying when he entered the ceremony.


    But he didn¡¯t mention anything about rabbits? Why was he crying now???


    He let him go without any clue as to what he had done. But contrary to his expectations, Zhong Yan suddenly fell over as soon as he was free from his hold. Adrian was shocked, and subconsciously reached out to help him. ¡°What¡¯s wro¡ª¡±


    Only then did he realize the morbid paleness of the other¡¯s complexion; there was also an unhealthy red blush covering his cheeks.


    Zhong Yan stepped back and broke free from Adrian¡¯s arms, supporting himself against the wall instead.


    ¡°Next time,¡± he spoke between gasps, ¡°I¡­I have something to do right now.¡±


    Adrian pursed his lips. He was holding Zhong Yan¡¯s waist earlier, and even if it was only for a few seconds, it was enough to feel through the thin shirt how terrifyingly hot the other man was¡ªZhong Yan was having a fever. No wonder his speech was so disorderly earlier, he was also not as calm as he usually was.


    But he did not intend to accommodate him.


    ¡°No, if you want to talk, then we¡¯re making things clear right now, I don¡¯t want to see you after today. You¡¯re not prepared to pay, nor are you willing to defy ¡°Butterfly¡±; does it not matter to you at all that you have to marry someone you don¡¯t like? Getting married is such a sacred thing, and you¡¯re just being this casual about it? ¡­What¡¯re you laughing about?¡±


    While he was speaking, Zhong Yan could not help but let out a soft chuckle, but hearing that, he stopped. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m laughing at you, you¡¯re still so naive even after so many years have passed. Getting married is so sacred that you have to defend it even if it means losing your job and all your savings, is that how it is? And for the sake of your grand ideals, it¡¯s worth it to abandon everything, to run towards that goal without a care for a single thing in your life, is that how it is?¡±


    He did not raise his voice, but slowly, without any hint of taunting, Adrian looked coldly at him and made a resolute answer. ¡°Yes, of course it is!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you think. Not everyone¡¯s the same as you, being born in a prominent family, squandering money as you please. I was abandoned by my parents as soon as I came into this world, I have nothing. Do you know what life was like in the orphanage of an underdeveloped little planet? Do you know what it¡¯s like to go through different adoptive families, playing by their tune, and standing ready for their beck and call?! All the verbal abuse, the bullying, do you know how it feels when nobody cares about you? Do you?


    ¡°You don¡¯t, do you? You¡¯ve always been at the center of everyone¡¯s focus, anything you wanted, you would be given. I gritted my teeth and struggled through everything alone just so I could get to where I am today! For twenty whole years! And at the final moment, you want me to give up the opportunity I was given to change my life just because a good friend asked me to?¡±


    Zhong Yan became more agitated the more he spoke, and he had almost never been this brusque with someone in his life. After he stopped, he took a breath and looked into Adrian¡¯s eyes, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, even if that friend is you, I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    Adrian stared fiercely in his eyes and questioned him, ¡°That¡¯s the reason you betrayed me?¡±


    ¡°You call this betrayal? The situation then, when we graduated, and the situation now is different, most of the people accepted ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ arrangements then. And as far as I know, you were in good relations with several of them, but I¡¯m the only one whose telecommunication account you blocked.


    ¡°There was Feng Weiran, your friend from the military division, and he went to the Glory Star System according to ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposals. As far as I know, his wife¡¯s merchant ship entered the Navi Star System many times last year, and she even has your special permission. They also ¡®betrayed¡¯ you, so why don¡¯t you blacklist them instead? Why don¡¯t you hate them? Why¡­why am I the only one who¡¯s hated by you!¡±


    Zhong Yan spoke very quickly as if he had been repressing the words in his heart for a very long time, and could finally spit it all out at once today.


    ¡°He was only¡ªHold on,¡± Adrian narrowed his eyes dangerously, ¡°You¡¯re monitoring my network.¡±


    Zhong Yan could barely stand anymore, his whole body was soft and his head was dizzy. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m abusing my power for my own gain. This is one of the many conveniences brought to me by my power. How many council members do you think have clean hands? Haven¡¯t you always been going off about this?¡±


    To think he would admit it so quickly, and even chucked his words right back at him; Adrian was stunned, and for a moment, he could not find any words to continue his criticism. He quickly latched onto the previous topic. ¡°Feng Weiran was born in the Glory Star, he had always thought of going back, so all he did was accept the most ideal position for him, and you call that betrayal?¡±


    ¡°I also just accepted my ideal position!¡±


    ¡°Your ideal position is to become ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ subordinate? Then why was I never told about this when I was talking to you about the necessity for human autonomy?! For three years you led me by the nose with your deliberate silence!¡±


    ¡°Tell you what? You want me to tell you when you¡¯re fueled with moral indignation, talking to me about the drawbacks of AI and criticized ¡®Butterfly¡¯ as nothing, that if I were ever judged suitable for the Supreme Council, I would go? What would be the point of bringing up such an unrealistic hypothesis at that time?¡±


    ¡°Of course there¡¯s a point. If you told me early on that you were this kind of a person¡ª¡± Adrian enunciated each word, ¡°I would never have been friends with you at all.¡±


    Those words almost seemed to have destroyed the pillar that had been holding Zhong Yan up. He collapsed and hit his arm on the stairs, causing it to throb with pain.


    This time, Adrian did not reach out to him.


    ¡°I still have things to do.¡± Zhong Yan could not stand up at all, layer after layer of darkness was seeping down into his eyes. He tried to keep the last thread of his dignity in front of this man; he could no longer maintain a steady voice, but he kept his tone firm, ¡°Leave, we¡¯re done here. Move away.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± said Adrian with coldness emanating from his entire person. Without any hesitation, he left him and went.


    Adrian went out of the tower, and ran into one of the hovering cameras.


    Since he had once used the tower¡¯s rooftop as a secret meeting place in the past, he was very familiar with all the monitoring operations within the vicinity. For example, he knew that the camera that was now floating ahead of him would fly into the tower from the terrace on the second floor, then slowly patrol along the entire stairwell before flying out from the top window; but it would not fly up to the roof.


    Cameras used in such remote corners of the campus were not very intelligent, and would not adjust its flight route according to the detected conditions in real time, it would only patrol according to the fixed route as it was set. It was also not equipped with any intelligent real-time analysis systems, and had only a single function. So, its size was especially small; it was only one-half the size of a person¡¯s fist.


    But it could detect ambient temperature.


    The mainframe of the school¡¯s monitoring system would filter through these reports every hour, which was to say¡ªAdrian lifted up the terminal on his wrist to look at the time¡ªin forty minutes, the intelligent analysis system would find out that a man whose body temperature was clearly above the normal ratings was present within the West Wing Tower of the School of Arts. A fever was not a life-threatening emergency, so a warning would not be sent to the school¡¯s medical institution; however, a man who appeared in the middle of the night without any student identification in such a remote corner would trigger a low-level alert from the security department, even if no weapon was detected. The nearest patrolling security guard will come over to check on the situation, which would take about ten minutes.


    So to say, in less than an hour, someone would find that Council Member Zhong Yan was currently going through a high fever.


    Of course, Zhong Yan could contact his own personal assistant, who had accompanied him, to inform them about his current physical condition. Then, it would take only ten minutes, less than an hour, to obtain effective support.


    But Zhong Yan would not do it. Zhong Yan had always hated being seen as weak by anyone, so he would try to keep up his image at all times. God knows why a person who was clearly born within the bowels of society had such an arrogant personality. Just like earlier, he was clearly in such a bad state that he was struggling to stand, and couldn¡¯t even hold a proper conversation, but he still refused to show any weakness. He insisted that he had ¡°something to do¡± and drove him away.


    Seven years ago, Adrian had sent him to the school¡¯s treatment ward many times. He was so angry that he was fuming when he heard him tell the doctor that he was ¡°fine¡±. He understood Zhong Yan too well, there was no way he would take the initiative to contact his assistant.


    Adrian looked up and saw that the patrol camera was already starting to rise up. Very soon, it would reach the open terrace on the second floor, and will then do its due diligence in a dozen seconds or so, capturing Zhong Yan¡¯s image with its lenses.


    Adrian closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.


    Then, he suddenly turned around and ran. He stretched his body and jumped up, grabbing the small camera that was hovering in the air, and backflipped in the air, landing steadily back on the ground.


    Adrian crushed the camera with one hand, and stuffed the wreckage into his coat pocket before walking with a gloomy face back to the stairwell.


    He had only reached the third floor when he suddenly heard the faint sounds of a whimper. It was clearly the sound of someone crying, but that voice held no restraints, and¡­was also very familiar.

 Chapter 7 - Carried Back

    From an early age, Zhong Yan knew the importance of power.


    He was once adopted by a couple who had tried but failed to produce a child even after a long time. The husband of the couple was the boss of a big local business, and they were considered to be a very wealthy family in the area. He still remembered how jealous all his peers at the orphanage were when he was being adopted.


    But, before even a year had passed, his foster mother was pregnant. They paid their fines and gave birth to another child before returning Zhong Yan. It was not until he returned to the orphanage that he found out that his adoptive parents had told them that he had stolen their family belongings, but his adoptive father was a generous man and did not wish to stain the child¡¯s credit record and ruin his life, so they did not report it. Then, an annulment of his adoption was signed with the orphanage.


    Somehow or another, word of it had leaked out, and the orphan children were all discussing it. That Zhong Yan who looked the best was a thief, that was why he was returned!


    ¡°I did not steal!¡± At only seven, Zhong Yan¡¯s face was flushed red as he said in agitation, ¡°How could he say that? Let him report it, let ¡®Butterfly¡¯ investigate it! I didn¡¯t do it!¡±


    But they all ignored him. The staff grabbed his arm and sent him back to the dormitory. It did not require a very wise mind to understand the situation; they had their own child and chose to abandon their adopted son, but they did not want to be punished, so they could only push the blame onto this parentless child.


    Ten years later, Zhong Yan was admitted to the Supreme Institution. The first thing he did when he got away from that little planet was to make a report that the director of the orphanage had received a bribe.


    He was the newly promoted champion of the Federation, the most honourable representative of the Supreme Institution¡¯s new students. The speed in which the Capital Star accepted his report was very fast, and in just the second week of school, he received news that the orphanage was seized, and several local giants were also led along.


    It was so easy! The mountain he could never push even after exerting all his strength, he was able to topple it with just the swipe of his fingers.


    This was his first taste of power in life, and he could not help but share the good news with his roommate. His roommate told him that he should not take what happened in the orphanage as an example, their so-called surveillance system of today was just a way to monitor the civilians. The higher up you were, the more ways you would have to evade it¡ªthey could even use the so called ¡°ubiquitous¡± artificial intelligence for their own gains.


    His roommate was not a supporter of AI. Zhong Yan did not mind this very much, and to be honest, don¡¯t even mention artificial intelligence, even if the one ruling over humans was a gigantic space rabbit, whether the human race was still alive or dead after a hundred years was none of his business as long as he could live a good life.


    You could call him heartless or immoral, but he had never been cared for by anyone since he was born, so he would care for no one as well.


    But there was no need to tell his new roommate this¡ªeven though his roommate came from a big family from the Capital Star, he did not put on airs like all the other pompous young masters, and he was treating him very well instead, even taking him as his good friend.


    Nobody had ever been this nice to him, this was the very first friend he had in his life.


    But Adrian told him he would no longer be his friend.


    Zhong Yan was prostrated dizzily over the stairs, covering his face with his hands as crystalline droplets of liquid seeped through the cracks of his fingers, leaking drop by drop down onto the ground.


    In the middle of the night, the sudden sound of footsteps disrupted the silence of the stairwells.


    Zhong Yan had an abrupt start, and quickly wiped his face with his sleeves in a hurry before raising his voice to ask: ¡°Who?!¡±


    Those footsteps were completely unaffected by his question, and was headed steadily towards him. Zhong Yan felt the subconscious need to hide his sorry cut of a figure, but he had no strength left in his body, so he could only watch with eyes wide as that person slowly appeared in his sights¡ª


    ¡­¡­


    It was true that Adrian had never seen this side of Zhong Yan. He was crumbled down onto the ground powerlessly, his complexion sickly, and his beautiful phoenix eyes were glazed with tears as its surroundings were circled with red.


    Adrian spoke with a little unease, ¡°I haven¡¯t even started crying yet, so what are you crying about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not crying,¡± Zhong Yan denied.


    Adrian glared at him, and for a moment, he could not find what to say. After a long while, he started again, ¡°Are your assistants dead or what? Tell them to pick you up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll return after I sit for a while.¡±


    Calm down, calm down, don¡¯t get angry, Adrian tried to urge himself; it¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know what this guy¡¯s virtues are like.


    ¡°Are you not going to contact your men?¡± He asked again after suppressing his temper.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s entire body was feeling chilly, and it was so cold that he was nearly on the verge of shaking. He could wish for nothing more than for Adrian to leave quickly, so that he would not have to see this side of him. He insisted, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m contacting my men.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­¡± Before Zhong Yan could finish, Adrian had violently covered him with his coat, and he was suddenly lifted up. He was so shocked that he subconsciously reached out and wrapped his arms around his neck¡ªhe was being carried like a princess.


    ¡­¡­


    Fayn has had a very mentally exhausting day today.


    He knew that explosions would light up as soon as Adrian and Zhong Yan were to meet, but he still underestimated the ability of the two in causing trouble. He never would have expected them to create so much news in just a short half day. The virtual community was like a carnival right now, and just thinking about people from different time zones waking up to it, the heat would definitely be here to stay for a while¡­


    Well, they can say whatever they want, this thrilling day was finally over.


    But this was not all bad; with everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the pair of enemies, the true purpose of their ensignment to the Institutional Star would be concealed.


    While Fayn was still trying to comfort himself in these trying times, an image suddenly popped up from his terminal¡ªAdrian was requesting a voice call.


    ¡°Commander, that was a mighty long walk you¡¯ve had, are you ready to return?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m on the way.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell the crew to prepare for¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t return for now. Go inform the medical officer¡­Stop moving!¡±


    Fayn asked in confusion, ¡°What? But I¡¯m not moving?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about you!¡± A spark of rage could be heard in Adrian¡¯s voice. ¡°There¡¯s a camera just ten meters away, if you move again I¡¯m throwing you over there, wanna give it a go?¡±


    Fayn¡¯s drowsiness flew away in an instant, and he probed with excitement. ¡°Wow! And here I was wondering what you¡¯re doing out there in the middle of the night. Who are you with? A junior sister? I thought we were friends, why didn¡¯t you invite me as well?¡±


    ¡°Scram. Tell the medical officer to prepare a bed, empty the office, and remove all the video and audio surveillance equipment.¡±


    ¡°What? And you¡¯re bringing her back too?¡± Fayn was shocked. ¡°And you want to use the bed in the clinic? So exciting?¡±


    Adrian howled, ¡°What kind of rubbish are you thinking about! Tell the medical officer to stand by in the clinic!¡±


    Saying that, he hung up.


    Fayn pondered on his own for a moment. From his tone, Adrian sounded very angry, and not hurt; most likely, the one who¡¯s hurt must be his opponent. But it¡¯s the middle of the night, how hurt could he be?


    Adrian had also specifically emphasized the removal of internal surveillance equipment from the warship¡¯s clinical ward¡­


    Fayn felt that he had a complete understanding of his superior¡¯s words now, so he quickly rushed off to shake the medical officer from his bed.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally back, the medical officer has been waiting for a long¡­time¡­¡± Before Fayn could finish, his eyes widened in astonishment.


    Adrian walked in from the security door, and there was a man in his arms¡ªbut that was not the main point. He knew the inside story of what happened in the past, so Fayn was not at all surprised by this. What surprised him though was the fact that even though the head and upper body of this person was covered by Adrian¡¯s coat, what it could cover was still limited; this man was clearly wearing a black suit.


    He was no student.


    ¡°Uh,¡± Fayn hesitated, ¡°Is¡­is this a professor or¡­one of the guests today?¡±


    The body of that mysterious man shrank a little, and he held onto Adrian¡¯s neck with an even greater force. Only then did Fayn notice that the other man¡¯s wrist was fair and thin, with long slender fingers; from that alone, he seemed quite young.


    With such a youthful pair of hands, it was probably not a professor. There were many guests who were wearing black today, but the ones at this age, with such a figure, and with skin so fair¡­Fayn¡¯s eyes were getting wider and wider. He suddenly felt as if these hands seemed just a little bit familiar.


    Adrian glared at him. ¡°What¡¯s with all your nonsense today? Get back to your job.¡± Saying that, he carried the man to the clinic, leaving behind his adjutant who was still having difficulties digesting this piece of news.


    Wei Lan opened the door for Adrian and glanced over to the man in his arms. ¡°A man? Then he won¡¯t be able to lay down, put him down on his side.¡±


    Adrian was confused. ¡°Why should I put him on his side if he has a fever? And what do you mean he¡¯s a man?¡±


    Wei Lan who was preparing the tools suddenly paused, and raised his gaze to question. ¡°Fever? But the adjutant said¡­¡±


    ¡°Said what?¡±


    ¡°¡­Nothing. Do you know what caused the fever?¡±


    ¡°Being out in the cold for a long time? It could be something more, take a look at him.¡± As he said that, Adrian set the man down on the bed. The man who was being covered with the coat was strangely quiet.


    Wei Lan put away all the equipment silently and took out the routine inspection equipment.


    He was just about to pull the coat away from that person when Adrian suddenly caught his hands.


    ¡°Have all the surveillance equipment in the room been removed?¡±


    Wei Lan nodded. ¡°I took out all we can, I told the others to block out the signal for those we can¡¯t remove.¡±


    ¡°You heard him, this place is not being monitored.¡± Saying that, Adrian peeled his coat away from him.


    After being tossed around for such a long time, the blush on Zhong Yan¡¯s cheeks had already spread throughout his entire face. It was unknown whether it was from his fever, or from anger, but it might also be due to the lack of oxygen from all his struggling on the way; or even all of the above. He raged, ¡°You¡¯re so unreasonable! You¡¯re¡­you¡¯re¡­¡±


    ¡°Abducting a council member? Kidnapping the top rank of the Supreme Council?¡± Adrian shot him a challenging grin. ¡°Go ahead, sue me.¡±


    Wei Lan listened silently as the two exchanged insults at each other until Adrian finally turned his attention towards him again. Then he asked, ¡°Commander, are you sure you¡¯re conscious right now? This is Counselor Zhong Yan.¡±


    The greatest merit Wei Lan had was his calmness. Once, in a time of danger, he pulled Fayn back from death¡¯s grasp during a wipe out operation. It happened around the time when Adrian had just been promoted, and was vigorously developing his own troops. So he was promoted and eventually became Chief Medical Officer of the Navi Military Command.


    But his his calmness was also his greatest downside. Besides being totally unfazed by death, he would always say ridiculous things with a completely calm demeanor. More than once, someone would try to act out against Adrian when their tolerance peaked, and every time they visited the clinic, where they would then feel the need to beat up the medical officer.


    The veins on Adrian¡¯s forehead were popping, and he felt he could finally empathize with them. With impatience he said, ¡°Do you want me to give you my security code for verification? I know who this is! Now deal with him quickly, and throw him out when you¡¯re done!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sick!¡± Zhong Yan was still putting up a stiff resistance. But unfortunately, it clearly took a lot of effort for him to even speak these words, so it was not at all convincing.


    Somebody knocked on the door to the ward.


    Adrian switched on the terminal screen to look, then turned to Wei Lan. ¡°I¡¯ve got business, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±


    Fayn was pacing anxiously at the door, and when he saw that Adrian had finally come out, he quickly asked, ¡°How was it? Can he be saved?¡±


    Adrian:¡±¡­Save what? Didn¡¯t you have a report for me?¡±


    Fayn waved his hand, ¡°Gosh, we can talk about the reports next time, this is more important. What kind of friends are we? Do you still have to hide anything from me? You¡¯ve even gone so far as to carry him back¡ªdid you break his legs?¡±

 Chapter 8 - Hiding

    Adrian grunted with impatience. ¡°Let me tell you one last time, I never thought of hitting him!¡±


    ¡°What? Come on, if we round up all the people you¡¯ve beat up, we could circle them around the main building of the military headquarters three times! Aren¡¯t you the fight now, talk later type?¡± Fayn said in exaggeration, ¡°Even the two of us have fought!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cause you deserved being hit.¡± Adrian could not even bother to continue this conversation with him. He raised his hand to stop him before he could rebut, ¡°Did you get the name list from ¡®Specimen¡¯?¡±


    Fayn looked as if he wanted to keep on going, but since Adrian was bringing up business, he could only put away the curiosity within him for now.


    ¡°It arrived not long ago, the liaison officer returned just a few minutes before you did. Here it is.¡±


    Adrian took over the stack of paper from him. Practically all instruments used to hold information were virtual screens. In days like these where physical screens were rare, ordinary citizens had practically little to no contact with such ancient means of holding information. This was a real piece of paper. ¡°Specimen¡± has always been cautious in their activities, and firmly adhered to the principle of one-to-one physical message transmission; short messages were passed down by word of mouth, or written with pen¡ªretro mechanical pens, not the touchscreen type¡ªon the palms of their hands. For messages that were too long, such as the list of confirmed anti-AI faculty members within the Supreme Institution, they could only be written on paper.


    The Supreme Institution had a very special status within the Federation. A century ago, after several generations of incessant trials from the human race and countless failures, they finally created a small, artificial, but mature planet that could operate independently. It took a huge amount of funding to maintain the normal operations of a man-made planet, causing a huge riot within the entire Federation for what was to be done on it. Some supported the use of it for the relocation of the Academy of Sciences, some called for the creation of an ecological landscape planet, and there were also those who requested it to be developed into high-level settlements. Finally, the first generation AI present at the time, ¡°Cocoon¡±, suggested to turn it into a school.


    Schools were a sacred existence, so the many voices of dissatisfaction that disagreed with each other subsided. Thus, the Supreme Institution settled down on it, and now most of the planet was occupied by the school, with the rest being the living areas of the faculty and staff. This was how the first artificial planet made by humans became a planet purely for education. The planet was also named after the school, it was called Institution Star.


    ¡­¡­


    Less than three years after the completion of the Federation¡¯s Highest Institution, the first generation AI ¡°Cocoon¡± announced its retirement, and humanity entered a new era of security, efficiency, and thorough optimization.


    From the very first batch of students received by the Supreme Institution, they have admitted only the best from the Federation, and the graduation of these students that came in three years, were the first graduates of the Federation since the ushering in of the new AI, ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    You could say that the Supreme Institution was born because of AI, and the hundred years of glory they received after that were also closely connected to ¡°Butterfly¡±. For most of the first half-century past, this institution had repaid ¡°Butterfly¡± with their unbridled loyalty. Their students have set an example for all the students in the world for their support and obeisance towards ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± proposals. After a hundred years have passed, most of the students of this school have come out to hold important positions, and thrived in them to give birth to dozens of new aristocratic families. Together with the old family powers, they were intertwined to form a complex upper society network within the Capital.


    It was not until the recent thirty years that students from the Supreme Institution began to openly reject ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± arrangements at the graduation ceremony. Until a decade ago, when a radical voice of anti-AI appeared for the first time on this planet, nobody would have ever thought that the wheels of history would turn this way. To think that the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution would actually reach a rejection rate of 46% during its 100th anniversary¡ªthis number was the highest amongst the top schools, and even broke their record high of 41% last year.


    To have such a high proportion of non-supporters among the students, the same definitely could be said with the faculty and staff; just that some have expressed their positions, some presented themselves ambiguously, and the rest remained silent. To get to the bottom of this, one would always have to test out the waters before they could take action, and this was why Adrian had contacted the Institution Star¡¯s branch of ¡°Specimen¡± to negotiate for information sharing with the other party.


    Adian flipped over the pages and mused, ¡°Some of their positions¡­can be used.¡±


    Fayn nodded in agreement, clearly having studied the list beforehand. He said, ¡°The liaison officer has applied for a one-on-one meeting with you tomorrow. The people at ¡°Specimen¡± have briefed him about their next plans on the Institution Star.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll speak with him,¡± he responded. Adrian raised his head and stretched out his muscles while asking, ¡°How did the netizens react today?¡±


    Fayn¡¯s eyes glittered in an instant; he thought that Adrian was finally prepared to talk to him about Zhong Yan, so he gushed out at once, ¡°How else could it be! The entire Federation is buzzing! God, you didn¡¯t see it, but they were saying everything. They said you were a big bully and even brought your own gang to bully that guy; some were even trying to guess what you said to him when you bumped into each other during the afternoon; some people said that guy was trying to take over the nest, and was trying to take over the seat of the Yate family¡¯s young master. But most of them were definitely talking about the marriage proposal. The supporters of you two have gone mad and are attacking each other with conspiracy theories¡ªoh right, what does ¡®top¡¯ mean? I saw some people decipher what that guy mouthed.¡±


    Adrian looked at him with his head throbbing. ¡°I was asking¡­how did everyone react to the 46% rejection rate of the Supreme Institution?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that.¡± Fayn shrugged, ¡°Not many people paid attention to that, but isn¡¯t that normal? It just raised by 5%, hardly as dramatic as the increase from last year.¡±


    During the middle of last year, a serious case of AI misjudgement erupted in the Capital Star: a young girl who could be considered rather popular in several forums was wrongly convicted in a civil dispute. The entire situation continued to ferment for several months, and the Supreme Council had to apologize and admit the mistake of the wrongful conviction.


    Even though the Supreme Council had repeatedly stated that this was only one amongst a very small possibility of mistakes due to ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± routine program updates, and was only a technical issue, and it had nothing to do with any other factors. However, the frenzy of the public has not stopped, information continued to be leaked in these recent years, whether they were actually true or not, causing the devotion of the people to come to an end as they begin to question: could the Supreme Council manipulate ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± judgement to some extent? Has ¡°Butterfly¡± lost the impartiality that it had always upheld? Has artificial intelligence produced the awareness to suppress dissidents towards itself?


    No matter what it could be, any possibilities could easily be enough to evoke a sense of crisis in people. By the end of the year, when the major institutions conducted some investigations of the people, they found that the support rate for restoring human autonomy had already broken through the 30 percent mark.


    ¡°There were some big issues last year that riled up the people after all, such a steady increase is already quite impressive for such a smooth year.¡± Adrian continued, ¡°At the end of it, what they did last year was not optimal. Only when the citizens can think for themselves, and recognize the problem, will they¡­¡±


    Fayn interrupted him, ¡°What do you mean? I think it¡¯s quite good. In the end, it¡¯s that evil little moth who harmed someone by making a misjudgement, only then did ¡®Specimen¡¯ latch onto the opportunity to push things further and stir up the people¡¯s emotions. It was just a process to speed things up. Some people are just blindly devoted to that damn moth, they¡¯ll never wake up from it if nothing big ever happens. But then again,¡± Fayn waved the name list in his hands, ¡°where does this organization come from? Were they behind all the big scandal reveals that¡¯s been coming out these past few years? It¡¯s incredible how much you can do with a few sources, like that misjudgement case last year; it¡¯s amazing to think they actually got the files from the Capital Star Central Hospital. And also this faculty name list¡­some positions are really high up, how did they get in contact with them? Should we investigate?¡±


    Adrian rapped his knuckles on the table, and slowly spoke. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, cautiousness is the way to survival for these underground organizations. They would be dead sooner than you can even start if it¡¯s that easy to investigate. As long as they don¡¯t reach into Navi, we can let them be.¡±


    Right as they were talking, Adrian received a message from Wei Lan reporting the progress of Zhong Yan¡¯s treatment.


    ¡­¡­


    Zhong Yan was laying on the bed with a quiet and relaxed expression. The drug had worked its magic in his body and he was already feeling much better. But he felt very exhausted, and a little sleepy.


    The room was kept at a consistent, reasonably warm temperature, but the temperature of his body was still gradually falling. Suddenly, he felt a little chill and wanted to cover up with something. Zhong Yan looked around him; besides the coat left behind by the bed, there really was nothing else to cover himself with.


    He gave up his search and covered himself with the coat again when suddenly, he was hit by a hard object. Confused, Zhong Yan felt around the area, and pulled out a camera that was no longer in its original shape.


    Adrian opened the door and entered just in time to see Zhong Yan sitting on the bed, fiddling with the wreckage of the camera in boredom.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± When he saw him enter, Zhong Yan raised the item in question and asked him, ¡°Is this the patrol camera from the school?¡±


    Adrian pulled a chair for himself and sat at the furthest corner of the room, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Zhong Yan was confused. ¡°What did you destroy it for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just didn¡¯t like the look of it.¡±


    For some inexplicable reason, the question made Adrian unhappy¡ªhe did not say it, but Zhong Yan could hear it in his voice. As a tactful person, he did not continue to question him, and instead switched to a different topic.


    ¡°I want to speak with my assistant. Is the signal blocked in this room? Can I go out and contact them?¡±


    ¡°No. Did you think I¡¯d let you out and give you the opportunity to spy on the structure of my warship?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s mind was in a much sober state than before, and he always remained composed when his mind was clear. He spoke to him calmly, ¡°Your warship is a highly-equipped standard small Federation warship.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been modified. There are secret weapons hidden everywhere beyond this door, do you not see me coming over personally to watch over you? It¡¯s the middle of the night, are you not done messing around?¡± Adrian said with impatience, ¡°I let you sleep on my bed, so before I change my mind, you better get to sleep.¡±


    Zhong Yan was at a loss as to how he was to react to how unreasonable the other man was being, but it was indeed quite late. After all, this was the Institution Star where the graduation ceremony had been held just the day before. Many people were still gathered here, so it would not be appropriate to go out again at this time¡­He silently accepted the other¡¯s suggestion, and prepared to leave tomorrow.


    Only¡­he was actually getting a little thirsty.


    Zhong Yan opened his mouth, but closed it again. Adrian had told him not to call him by his name, but he was afraid that asking for water without even a prefix would make him even angrier. For a moment, Zhong Yan could not think of what to call him. Of course, he could choose to accept Adrian¡¯s request and call him ¡°Commander Yate¡±¡ªjust like the hundreds of millions of people in the Federation who had no inkling of a relationship with Adrian.


    Adrian¡¯s focus was completely off him right now, and he was working on his own virtual terminal; probably dealing with military documents.


    Zhong Yan pondered about it, but finally decided to try. ¡°¡­Fellow Student, can you help me get a glass of water?¡±

 Chapter 9 - Sleepless Night

    At the age of twenty-seven this year, Adrian who had mixed with both the good and bad, crawling and beating his way up that disorderly mess of a star system, was suddenly referred to as ¡°Fellow Student¡±.


    If this person had been one of his old professors, he might even feel touched to hear that; but unfortunately, this was Zhong Yan who was also twenty-seven this year. Adrian felt a strange chill and had a suspicion that this man was trying to disgust him on purpose, thus he shot back with an insult. ¡°Is something wrong with you?¡±


    Zhong Yan was back to himself now, so he countered him effortlessly, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, I¡¯ve just taken my medicine and I¡¯m getting better now. Thank you for your humanitarian aid. Can you get me a glass of water please? Or I could go and get it myself, if that works for you.¡±


    Many years ago, Adrian had gone to watch several of the in-school debate competitions that Zhong Yan had participated in when he had no classes. Zhong Yan had his own distinct style and was also a strong argumenter whose every word carried tons of weight. He was always put in charge as the second or third speaker, and the speakers of these positions mainly participated in the opposition segments.


    At that time, he watched as Zhong Yan sat in his seat like an immovable mountain; even when his opponent was vehement and red-faced, his expression still remained the same; always like the stagnant surface of a lake without any ripples. When he opened his mouth to speak, even though the speed in which he gave his speech was quick, it still felt to everyone present that he was completely calm and steady.


    This may be strange to say, but Zhong Yan was more lively and much warmer when they were in the privacy of their shared dormitory. But when he saw how he spoke word after word, each as sharp and accurate as a dagger, against his opponent with that calm face of his, Adrian found himself unable to look away.


    He was so fascinated by this man during those years, but now he felt like he was the biggest fool in the world.


    Adrian had a mind to order one of his subordinates to follow that guy around, but unfortunately he did not bring many people with him to begin with, and most of them had already gone to sleep. Standing up, he walked out of the room with an unkindly expression.


    Adrian returned the now filled glass to the stand right beside the bed and turned towards Zhong Yan. ¡°I just thought about the time when you were in your second year. There was a debate on the pros and cons of artificial intelligence. You invited me to go see it.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not know why that was suddenly brought up, so he nodded. ¡°Yes. I was the third speaker of the opposition for that debate, and the opposition won; I remember it, why?¡±


    Adrian asked with a menacing tone, ¡°Have you been planning to mislead me since then?¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan understand. He did not know how Adrian had come up with this idea, but he was convinced that this had all been an ill-intended, well-planned deception.


    ¡°The supporting and opposition parties of the school debates are decided by lots only half an hour before it begins. I¡¯ve invited you to every competition I participated in, but since you were always busy with building up a clique of your own, you¡¯ve only been to several of them and happened to come on a day where that was the chosen topic; can I really be blamed for that as well?¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you very thorough that day on that stage about how bad artificial intelligence was? Even I couldn¡¯t muster as many words as you did. How is it that your words and actions are in complete conflict of each other?¡±


    ¡°That was a debate competition,¡± Zhong Yan frowned, ¡°If I had been chosen to be on the supporting side, I would also have led my team to victory just the same. Could you be a little less naive? The competition is one that looks at a debater¡¯s ability in language expression, and the ability to respond on the spot; it does not mean that the debater really agrees with the points they have brought up. I performed well, and that only proves that the level of my ability to debate is high. It has no other meaning.¡±


    Adrian sneered coldly. ¡°I am rather naive. I only knew that you were performing on stage, but I never suspected that what happened below that stage could be a performance as well.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s expression was turning colder. ¡°I wasn¡¯t acting.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    It was useless to deny anything. Most likely, he was seen as nothing more than a swindler now in Adrian¡¯s heart; to him, he was a person who could do anything for the sake of obtaining power.


    But it did not matter. Zhong Yan¡¯s hands tightened around the glass. It doesn¡¯t matter, he can think whatever he wants, this is how he had always been.


    When Adrian saw him about to take his drink, he snapped coldly. ¡°That glass of water costs three hundred thousand. For old time¡¯s sake, I¡¯ll give you a discount, only 120%, you owe me three hundred and sixty thousand. Remember to pay up after you drink.¡±


    As if he did not hear him, Zhong Yan took a slow few sips and raised his glass to look at the contents. ¡°I¡¯ve got no money, just charge me forty thousand for these two sips.¡±


    ¡°What use is it if you only pay forty thousand?¡± Adrian broke out in rage, ¡°Just choose to refuse!¡±


    ¡°Not possible, I don¡¯t have three hundred and sixty thousand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so poor that you can¡¯t even shell out three hundred and sixty thousand?¡± Adrian sneered. ¡°The damned annual salary of a council representative is no less than four hundred thousand, let alone the various benefits you¡¯re given. Moreover, I¡¯m sure most of your money is coming from grey areas¡ªand don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have any. I don¡¯t believe that someone with clean hands and feet can climb up as quickly as you did. Besides, you said it yourself, are there any members in the council with clean hands?¡±


    It was very late now and Zhong Yan was feeling rather sleepy. Since there was no surveillance here, he had a rare chance of finally being able to relax, and was also too lazy to maintain his image. He drained the glass of water that was said to be worth more than three hundred thousand, and simply responded, ¡°Got no money. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±


    Saying that, he pulled the coat over his head, forcing the topic to an end.


    Adrian left the clinic after watching him settle down into his slumber, and locked the door from the outside. He laid on the bed in his own room, and his emotions were tumbling within his chest. No matter how hard he tried, he could not sleep¡ªprobably only someone as heartless as Zhong Yan could sleep so peacefully after so many things have happened.


    He looked at the news on his terminal for a while, and realized that he really could not blame Fayn; almost all the discussions about the graduation ceremony were taken up by news of him and Zhong Yan. He could only spend some effort to look for the articles published by the major media outlets that were discussing the Supreme Institution¡¯s internal flow, but they were simply too few, and it did not take him long to finish reading all of them.


    ¡­¡­


    He decided simply to get up once more, and enter the surveillance room by himself.


    Since he had came out with only a few officers, nobody was on night duty in the surveillance room. Adrian manually turned on the surveillance of a certain room using the highest authority.


    He did not know what he was trying to do either, but fortunately, nobody was around so he did not have to explain himself to anyone.


    He couldn¡¯t sleep anyways. That was what he said to appease himself. What if Zhong Yan was only pretending to sleep, and was planning to do something fishy? After all, he brought the ¡°enemy¡± into his own warship, he should be taking the responsibility of watching over him¡­


    The surveillance screen was restored, and the idle expression on Adrian¡¯s face froze.


    As expected, Zhong Yan was only pretending to sleep. The chair that had originally been left at the corner was brought by Zhong Yan to next to the bed, and he was sitting there now. From the looks of it, he seemed to be daydreaming.


    What was he trying to do in the middle of the night? Adrian watched the image closely. Could it be, Zhong Yan had brought a small eavesdropping device on him, and was going to install it somewhere? But he had brought him over forcefully, he did not think that Zhong Yan could have expected this situation.


    Then, was he going to modify the camera¡¯s wreckage to be used as a wiretapping device? But Zhong Yan¡¯s profession was miles away from the electronics and machinery section. He did not believe that Zhong Yan had the ability to recover equipment that had been crushed by him.


    After a while, Zhong Yan finally moved. Adrian watched him seriously, and watched as Zhong Yan began to¡­fold clothes.


    He was folding Adrian¡¯s coat.


    The way he folded the coat looked very dilatory. A little tug here, a little pat there; an ordinary coat took him a full two minutes to fold, and the finished product was left with no edges at all; it looked soft and feeble. If he was inspecting the new recruits while they were folding their clothes, and they did it in this way, he would have beaten them until their faces were swollen.


    But clearly, Zhong Yan did not find anything unacceptable about that folded coat. He put it down on the bed and picked up the wrecked camera beside the bed, turning it around and looking over it. A look of confusion appeared on his face, clearly not having found the reason behind it being reduced to such a state. So, he put it back into the clothes, leaving it to rest in peace.


    After doing these mysterious things, he went to the bathroom. When he came out again, Adrian figured that he should be going to sleep now.


    But he did not.


    Instead, he sat back down on the chair and stared at the folded coat, entering into that trance-like state again. After a while, he took off his slippers and slowly curled up on the chair, holding his legs with both hands with his head buried within, shrivelling up into one small figure.


    This was Zhong Yan who cared about keeping up appearances more than anything else in this world. Unbeknownst to him, he revealed for the first time, within the locked doors of the clinic which he thought was completely isolated to Adrian, a side of him he had never seen¡ªa side of him that was fragile, dispirited, and vulnerable.


    Adrian stared at the huddled man for a very long time. With a complicated look on his face, he continued to watch him from the surveillance room for the entire night.


    ¡°Co¡­Commander?¡±


    Early the next morning, the second lieutenant of the munitions department was stunned in place by the presence of the man seated within.¡±How come you¡¯re here? Did something happen on the ship?¡±


    His rank was not high so he had not been invited by the school, but he was also a graduate of the Supreme Institution. Three years ago, he followed in Adrian¡¯s footsteps and announced to everyone that he wanted to give the Navi Military Command his support, and he had also caused a small sensation back then. Right now, he had become one of Adrian¡¯s trusted men, and was brought along by him to be part of his crew.


    Everyone else within the crew had higher ranks than him, so he was temporarily in charge of monitoring the ship.


    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± When he saw him, Adrian gave him a very normal greeting.


    ¡°Oh, yes¡­is there anything wrong?¡± he asked with his heart beating in fear. He looked over to the screens; besides the clinic¡¯s surveillance that he had been asked to turn off still being off, there were no abnormalities to be found.


    But the commander was absolutely not normal. If this was the usual, there would definitely be a smile at his lips when he spoke; but right now, his face was cold.


    ¡°Nothing, I just woke up a little early. You can get to work¡ªthere¡¯s no need to turn on the surveillance for the clinic.¡±


    With that, Adrian gave him a wave and left the surveillance room.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Holy f*ck¡ªwhat¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Fayn had yet to wake up and was stumbling to pull his blanket up to cover his chest. Pretending to be terrified, he asked, ¡°Are you going to rape me?¡±


    Adrian pulled his blanket off. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do it even if you paid me. Get the hell up.¡±


    Fayn got up while mumbling a complaint. Adrian said to him, ¡°Send Zhong Yan back to his ship by car later, and if anyone asks, just say I¡¯m the one in the car and was going over to negotiate with him about the refusal fines.¡±


    Fayn was rinsing his mouth when he heard that, and nearly choked to death. Through his coughs he said, ¡°Me? Send him back?! You¡¯re better off choosing someone else, I¡¯ve been an eyesore to him since we were still in school! What if he disappears me?¡±


    ¡°The only two people who know he¡¯s here is you and the medical officer. The medical officer doesn¡¯t know him, and he¡¯s not as strong as you are when it comes to self-defence, who else is going to send him but you?¡±


    ¡°Just the two of us?¡± Fayn pointed out angrily, ¡°Are you not a person?¡±


    Instead of dragging out the sh*t talking session, Adrian gave him a clear and concise order, ¡°Get on it.¡±


    But Fayn still tried to struggle. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you cover his head and carry him back again, right? He¡¯s one of the Supreme Council¡¯s boys, what if he spies on the internal structure of our warship?¡±


    Adrian responded to him coldly. ¡°This is a highly-equipped standard small-scale federation warship, what¡¯s there to spy about?¡±


    Fayn was very angry. He had mentioned about seven or eight years ago to Adrian that Zhong Yan seemed to bear much hostility towards him. They ate together a few times, and things were still fine when Adrian was around; but when he wasn¡¯t¡ªsuch as when he went to the bathroom or whatnot¡ªZhong Yan would usually ignore him if he tried to speak to him. If he continued his futile attempts, he would even shoot him a cold glance, which made Fayn very confused.


    At that time, Adrian told him that he was just being overly sensitive, Zhong Yan was only a bit colder to people he was unfamiliar with.


    ¡­He should really drag Adrian over so he could see the situation!


    ¡­¡­


    With a bellyful of complaints, he operated the driver¡¯s console while Zhong Yan sat silently at the back. He was currently contacting someone; most likely his assistant. He had invited him to take the shotgun passenger seat within the vehicle, but as if he had not heard him at all, Zhong Yan opened the door to the back of the vehicle.


    Even though the other person was not paying any attention to him, Fayn still felt that it was necessary to explain the situation to him. Pretentiously, he coughed and spoke to himself, ¡°Uh, Adrian asked me to send you. You know, after all, I was his best friend in school, and am more familiar with the situation, the medical officer isn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zhong Yan interrupted.


    Fayn was stunned. This was the first time since picking him up from the clinic that Zhong Yan spoke to him. He only heard as Zhong Yan spoke calmly to him, ¡°The entire federation recognizes me as best friend to the General Commander of the Navi Military Command during his student days, how has it become you?¡±

 Chapter 10 - Love and Hate

    Fayn knew that the identity of the other person had changed, and perhaps, the only people left in the Federation who could stand on the same footing as him right now numbered no more than twenty; when it came to his peers, Adrian was the only one left that could rival him. But still, he could not resist taking a jab at him. ¡°So you still remember that he¡¯s your best friend, huh? Then why didn¡¯t you think about that when you stabbed him in the back?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something between me and him, not something¡­¡± Zhong Yan raised his head to shoot him a glance, ¡°an outsider should be sticking their nose into.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am an outsider.¡± Fayn said, ¡°And even if it¡¯s between the two of you, you still didn¡¯t tell him beforehand. If you could¡¯ve come out with the fact that you didn¡¯t agree with human autonomy at all, and maybe brought it up when you were in your first or second year, and even if it was your third year, he¡­¡±


    ¡°Would have switched rooms immediately, and have nothing more to do with me. I don¡¯t need you to tell me this, I know him better than you do.¡± Zhong Yan still remained calm, ¡°Also, I have never personally expressed my position as a supporter of that so-called ¡®human autonomy¡¯ or otherwise, be it before or after our graduation, so I don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve misunderstood me.¡±


    ¡°You still should¡¯ve told Adrian that at the very least, you could¡¯ve told him that if ¡®Butterfly¡¯ were ever to bring you over to do her bidding, that you¡¯d never even hesitate to agree!¡±


    Completely unaffected, Zhong Yan responded to him as coolly as before, ¡°That was an event with a very small possibility of happening, I fail to see what use it would be for me to bring it up.¡±


    Fayn really had to admit, the possibility was in fact rather small. There were only a handful of posts in this world that were closely related to ¡°Butterfly¡±, and within that percentage was the minority: the pyramid-shaped existence they call Supreme Council. There were no more than fifty formal members of the council, even assistants and candidate members were less than a hundred combined.


    In the current era where the life expectancy of a person was over the hundred-year mark, the years a person spends working had also been extended. It was normal for a person to be retired by ¡°Butterfly¡± only when they reached their seventies or eighties, and there were never any vacancies in the Supreme Council; it was quite common not to see any new members in the council even after many years have passed. Even if a new person joins the council, most of them would be other promoted in from other sub-councils below. For a student to be judged directly by ¡°Butterfly¡± to enter the Supreme Council at graduation, this was a rare scenario that was hard to come by even for the top talents produced by the top universities through the decades.


    On the day before his graduation, Zhong Yan had never thought about this possibility; on the contrary, he was practically mulling over it every night as soon as his eyes were closed during the busy later half of his graduation year. He knew that with the quality of his resume, that the position he would be offered would definitely not be low. Most likely, he would not be given any ordinary position your average joe would be thrown into. In which case, Adrian was not the extremist type that would force people to express their personal opinions before giving up. He may be a bit disappointed that his friend does not fully support his ideals, but he could apologize afterwards and slowly work things out; it should not have been a big problem.


    But unfortunately, the dart managed to land on the smallest fraction of the turntable¡­


    Fayn rebuked, ¡°No matter how small the possibility, it still happened. You are the sole reason this has all happened, and if you could¡¯ve prepared him for it, things would not have turned this bad. At the very most, he would¡¯ve just put some distance between the two of you.¡±


    ¡°And you think that¡¯s ¡®not as bad¡¯?¡±


    No, that ending is terrible; for Adrian to no longer pay him any attention was a hundred times worse than what they had between them now.


    When he first saw Adrian yesterday, he was suddenly ignored, and Adrian passed straight by him; that was the one moment in his life where he felt the most afraid. Compared to those years where he tried like a madman to get in contact with Adrian, and found himself blacklisted through all their communication methods, he felt even more afraid¡ªhe was so afraid that after seven years, Adrian had already let go, and put away the enmity they had. But thankfully, he later found out that he had just been acting indifferent; Adrian still hated him, and he hated him so much it was spilling over his gritted teeth.


    With that thought, Zhong Yan almost wanted to feel thankful for how he had handled it during that year. At the very least¡ª


    ¡°At the very least, he still hates me right now,¡± he muttered under his breath.


    Since the dart had already landed on the bull¡¯s eye, there was no longer any hope for reconciliation. In that case, he can just hate him. Adrian is the very first person in his life, and the one and only person in this world who had truly cared for him. Even if they could not be friends, it was good enough for him to become his enemy. No matter what, he could not bear to lose the attention Adrian paid him.


    ¡­¡­


    Zhong Yan contacted one of his men to open the door, and Fayn drove the car directly into the parking lot of his spaceship.


    A young man already standing in wait.


    Even though he was wearing a suit, he looked like a mere student who was here to attend a presentation. With a fluffy head of short brown hair and a pair of black-rimmed glasses, his face presented a warm scholarly look.


    The instant Fayn¡¯s eyes focused on that man¡¯s face, his hands slipped on the driver¡¯s control screen, causing them to almost craah into the car ahead.


    He could feel Zhong Yan moving his gaze away from his personal terminal to look right at him.


    ¡°What kind of shitty design do you have in your parking lot?¡± Fayn complained, ¡°That reflective mirror is rearview! I mean¡ªthe rearview mirror is reflective!¡±


    Zhong Yan swept his eyes around the parking lot, and his gaze landed on the other person besides them¡ªhis personal assistant¡ªand looked at him for a few seconds, asking, ¡°What¡¯re you so nervous about?¡±


    ¡°We nearly hit that car! Didn¡¯t you see it? I say, can you be any more calm than this? If something were to happen to you in my car, the headlines of the news in ten minutes would be ¡®Senior Officer of the Navi Military Command Murdering a Member of Council¡¯, do you think I could remain calm like that?!¡±


    Seeing that the car had come to a stop, Zhong Yan¡¯s personal assistant came over to open the door for him. He nodded to Fayn in greeting and said to him in a business-like tone, ¡°Adjutant Suster, thank you for coming all the way here, and please convey our gratitude to Commander Yate. We very much appreciate the kind assistance he offered when he bumped into the Counselor last night.¡±


    Fayn burst out in laughter and waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­but I¡¯m just curious, do you council people not get tired of keeping up formalities all the time?¡± He met eyes with the assistant for a few seconds. Then, the both of them quietly looked away. Fayn turned his gaze towards Zhong Yan and asked, ¡°Say, Zhong Yan, is this the son of one of your council¡¯s staff? Is he of age yet?¡±


    The young man could not keep up the business smile on his face anymore. Without waiting for Zhong Yan to respond, he spoke with a tone laced with dissatisfaction, ¡°I am already twenty-four this year. I have been of age for four years, Adjutant Suster.¡±


    He looked as if he had more to say, but Zhong Yan cut him off plainly, ¡°Intron.¡±


    Intron bowed his head respectfully.


    Zhong Yan said to Fayn in a perfunctory manner, ¡°See you again.¡±


    ¡°No. Please, let¡¯s not,¡± Fayn responded to him in a disgruntled tone. After booting up his car¡¯s controls, he drove off.


    ¡°Why is it you?¡± As they were on the way back to the office area, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Bayer?¡±


    Since the event they were attending this time was hosted by the Supreme Institution, the nature of it was considered special; many invited guests had also brought the schoolmates amongst their friends groups who were also graduates of the Supreme Institution as a means to offer them a ¡®favor¡¯, allowing the people who were similarly as outstanding at them, but still not qualified enough to be invited, a chance to attend. Zhong Yan was no exception. He brought his two direct subordinates who had come from the Supreme Institution, Bayer and Intron.


    Bayer was here to join as he was Zhong Yan¡¯s first-in-command, but Intron had just been invited because he was a little luckier than the rest. He had actually entered the Supreme Council by coincidence last year, and was assigned to work under one of the council¡¯s representative members. Even though he was only doing marginal work under the newly appointed member, who didn¡¯t have to climb up from similar beginnings? The height of this starting point was already enough to attract the glares of his peers to his back.


    ¡°Senior Bayer is feeling a little unwell,¡± Intron answered him respectfully, ¡°his stomach seems to be acting up, so I¡¯ve come to receive you instead. Also¡­news came from the Capital Star this morning, he told me to report the situation to you in his place.¡±


    Zhong Yan pulled out the chair at his desk and sat down before turning on the virtual screen on the table that he used for work. ¡°Got it, call the doctor who came with us to take a look at him after this, and tell him to get more rest. Now, begin.¡±


    Intron spoke, ¡°Here¡¯s the situation: we¡¯re about to reach the end of the year¡ªbut for the whole of this year, we have received no, um, no news at all about the Navi System¡¯s sub-council or Navi Military Headquarters. And well, the year is coming to an end soon¡­¡±


    He may be sounding as if he was beating around the bush, but in truth, all the reports from the Navi System had been perfunctory just last year; not only were the routine monthly notifications clearly made up of forged data. Year-end reports from other star systems numbered about fifty pages on the short side, and about a hundred pages on the longer side. It was reasonable to say that Navi, as the only non ¡°Butterfly¡± controlled region, should have even more detailed reports; but in the end, the report they sent in was only eight pages long¡ªand out of those eight pages, two were content directories, and one of them was the list of authors.


    During this year, however, the entirety of the Navi System had gone silent. In the first half of the year, the Capital Star had sent out numerous letters of inquiry, with each worded even stricter than the last, but they all ended up like sunken rocks in the sea. During the middle of the year, the Supreme Council had once sent a special commissioner over to investigate the situation. As a result, the commissioner failed to even get into the Navi System, much less reaching the main planet, Navi Star, to see the head of the sub-council¡ªbut everyone knew that the Navi System was now under the control of the Navi Military Command¡¯s headquarters, the sub-council may not even exist anymore.


    After the special commissioner reported the situation, the Supreme Council was roaring with fury. They mobilized their troops to enter the Navi System forcibly, and this incident made its way to the round table of the representative members of council. It was a pity that it happened during the first anniversary of the ¡°AI suspected of malicious misjudgement incident¡±, because the waves of public opinion within the virtual community had been riled up again. Much of their energy had been diverted to this issue, and, at the same time, they also had many deep concerns and fears¡ªNo matter what the cause, the first to move is always the first to lose. What¡¯s more, the Navi System was now basking under the limelight of the people, and the rate of support for AI and the Supreme Council had been dropping year by year. If they were to enter into a conflict now, it would definitely cause a strong rebound from the entire Federation. Besides, how many forces could you mobilize for it to still remain appropriate? To what extent has the Navi Military Command developed? That remote star system was as concealed as a steel drum these days, both men and information goes in, but never out, nobody knows how the situation really is in there right now.


    And things have dragged on till today.


    ¡°We need to come up with a solution by this year.¡± Zhong Yan said.


    He laced his fingers on the table and his face remained calm, nobody could tell what he was thinking. After a moment of thought, he gave his order. ¡°Inform the cockpit, return immediately. As for the news from the Capita, tell them that I am proposing to start up the deadlocked ¡®Butterfly¡¯ break through inception project from seven years ago. I strongly recommend that we start before the end of this year. We have to get rid of the deadlock and enter the Navi System. Tell everyone to wait for my return to the council¡¯s round table before we discuss further. Send the message.¡±


    Intron seemed to be stunned, ¡°That¡­sir, is that all right? About the Navi System, you¡­don¡¯t you want to avoid suspicion?¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his eyes to look at him and asked, ¡°Avoid suspicion? Is it because I am at odds with the Supreme Commander of the Navi Military Command that they¡¯re worried about me possibly using this as a chance for revenge, or do you think they¡¯re worried about me seeking personal gains for being his optimal marriage candidate?¡±


    Intron felt a little awkward. With some hesitation, he said, ¡°I did hear some gossip from some of my other colleagues, and I¡¯m afraid¡­it¡¯s the latter. After all, it¡¯s hard to refuse in your position, the council¡­¡±


    ¡°Is overthinking it.¡± Zhong Yan moved his gaze away. ¡°That man from Navi hates me to the end of his life, he will definitely prefer to pay five times the fines over being tied to me. This marriage will not come to fruition, and there is no suspicion to avoid, just repeat to them what I told you earlier.¡±


    Fayn was practically scrambling to get in contact with Adrian as soon as he left the surveillance range of the spaceship.


    The call was cut off. While driving, Fayn did not waste a single second before redialling, and finally entered in conversation with him on the third try.


    Adrian¡¯s voice emerged, ¡°You better have some important business. I¡¯m currently with the liaison officer¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave the liaison officer be for now! My business is definitely more important than his!¡± Fayn was shouting out in a quick speed, ¡°Do you know who I just saw in Zhong Yan¡¯s private ship? The one who met with me yesterday in the school, that guy from ¡®Specimen¡¯!¡±

 Chapter 11 - Smart Man

    The Capital, Supreme Council.


    Zhong Yan walked into the office and found that somebody had actually arrived even earlier than he did today.


    Intron had already arrived, and was at his desk with the virtual screen on; from the looks of it, he was already getting started with work. When he saw Zhong Yan coming in, he stood up and bowed his head respectfully. ¡°Good morning, Sir Zhong.¡±


    ¡°Morning,¡± Zhong Yan greeted in response, ¡°Tell Bayer to see me when he arrives.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. But there¡¯s still some time before work starts¡­I mean, if it¡¯s nothing too important, I could help you with it instead.¡±


    Zhong Yan was about to open the door to his office but he stopped and turned to face Intron instead. His eyes were clear and calm, but for some inexplicable reason, Intron felt his heart skip a beat. Before he could speak, he heard Zhong Yan say, ¡°That will work. Come in, help me sort out the meeting reports during my absence from the council.¡±


    Intron hurriedly gave his response of affirmation and followed him in.


    The surveillance system installed within the offices of the representative members were of the highest authority. This meant that ¡°Butterfly¡± was the only existence capable of viewing it; there would be no humans whatsoever that could ever spy on the representative members¡¯ offices.


    Intron was standing in wait for Zhong Yan to turn on his virtual screen so he could transfer the meeting¡¯s documents to him, when he suddenly said, ¡°Sir, I was asked by Sir Bayer about your and Commander Yate¡¯s discussion about the refusal fines, and how it went.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhong Yan asked, seemingly not very bothered about the question, ¡°And how did you answer him?¡±


    ¡°I told him I didn¡¯t know the details.¡±


    ¡°Even though you were the one who came to pick me up when I contacted the ship, you said it yourself, you were only taking over for Bayer temporarily. I seem to have given mention that externally, we should be telling people that it was A¡­the men from Navi who came to discuss matters with me. Intron, is Bayer an outsider?¡±


    Failure or success depended on his answer now. Intron bowed his head and answered, ¡°Sir Bayer used to be Sir Yate¡¯s first-in-command assistant. After you took over as an elected member, he became your first-in-command under Sir Yate¡¯s referral. Of course, Sir Bayer is not an outsider. Just¡­he would definitely be worried to know that you are in poor health. Sir Bayer is getting old, I thought that since you¡¯ve already recovered, I¡¯d take it upon myself to avoid giving him a shock.¡±


    Zhong Yan showed no reaction to his words. As usual, his face was calm and steady as an ancient well with no ripples, and his mood was difficult to distinguish. A prompt for a successful file transfer popped up on the virtual screen, but he did not ask for Intron¡¯s dismissal.


    ¡°You¡¯re smart. Everyone likes smart men, I am no exception,¡± Zhong Yan spoke without looking at him, ¡°but you were too impulsive. I can see you¡¯ve been very tense since the day you entered my team. You¡¯re so young, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s there for you to be so anxious about. When we¡¯re on a ship¡­it¡¯s not a very good idea. You know what I¡¯m trying to say. I hope this doesn¡¯t happen a second time.¡±


    A sliver of sweat slid down Intron¡¯s forehead. ¡°So¡­Sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not trying to accuse you or anything, just giving you a warning,¡± Zhong Yan cut him off, ¡°If you want to continue working hard here, then you¡¯ll have to learn to calm yourself down a little more.¡±


    Intron raised his head abruptly. ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°From tomorrow morning onwards, report to my office. What you said is right, Bayer is getting old, it¡¯s time for someone to take some work off his hands.¡±


    When Bayer arrived at the area around Zhong Yan¡¯s private office, a message appeared.


    ¡°Sir Yate wants to see me?¡± Zhong Yan asked, ¡°Now? I¡¯m still at work.¡±


    ¡°The Navi meeting is going to begin a little past noon, and Sir Yate hopes to see you before then,¡± Bayer passed along the notice to him.


    Everyone knew that this first-in-command had been assistant to Stalvern Yate of the Council of Representatives for several decades. He was a few years younger than Stalvern, and you could almost say he had reached his position with due thanks to him, so their relationship could not be any closer.


    Later, when Stalvern received his retirement proposal, he was still working. Thus, he became the first-in-command of the newly elected representative member, and this was practically the thing that set the rumors of ¡°Yate family patriarch helping Zhong Yan into his current position¡± to stone.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s speech when he was talking to this old assistant was very respectful, but he did not continue to question him. Instead, he said, ¡°All right, I will tie up the loose ends here and be there immediately.¡±


    The Yate family residence was not too far from the Supreme Council. In the Capital where every inch of soil was worth its weight in gold, this ancient and well-respected family occupied a stunning area of land.


    Zhong Yan walked along the corridor that was covered with expensive carpets. On both sides of this grand and spacious corridor were portraits of the successive masters of the estate. They were neither holographic images nor virtual screens, but rather real physical portraits that were framed with finely-carved gold, hanging on both sides to highlight the family¡¯s glory.


    This was what Adrian had once described to him as ¡°the gloomy corridor lined with pictures of the dead¡±. At that time, neither of them would ever have imagined that Zhong Yan would visit this ¡°coffin house¡± from Adrian¡¯s words so frequently in the future.


    Without looking around, he followed behind the butler unhurriedly. Every time he stepped into the Yate family residence, an idea would always circle around in his mind: This was the place where Adrian grew up. Adrian must have stepped on these very carpets beneath him countless times before he turned seventeen; and those steps in front of that door was the place Adrian had mentioned tripping over; there was a scratch on the corner of the portrait of the second last patriarch, and it was Adrian who had accidentally caused it when he was playing around with his friend¡­This place was so far away from Adrian, but it felt so close.


    Zhong Yan did not know to what extent these thoughts have influenced his decisions, but it was not a difficult decision for him to accept the olive branch thrown to him by the current patriarch of the Yate family. At that time, he had already officially climbed up to the highest position of the Supreme Council, but he was still young and not yet well-versed in the ways of this world; he seemed to have already reached his peak in this world that was led by those with experience.


    Meanwhile, this family had strong financial resources and a wide network of contacts, whilst their only heir had ran off to Navi. They could barely see any hopes of him returning. All the forces were eyeing them, and the other members of their family were eager to make their move. And the best part was, they had an incumbent patriarch who was about to retire.


    ¡°Please,¡± the butler opened the door to the living room and bowed to him.


    Zhong Yan returned a slight bow in response before stepping in.


    Stalvern took a sip of his tea before turning to him, ¡°Sit.¡±


    From his cold demeanor, Zhong Yan could tell what he was thinking. He thanked him and sat down, waiting for the other party to open his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the plan you suggested, about rebooting the project of installing ¡®Butterfly¡¯ within the Navi System.¡± Stalvern put his cup down. He was already in his eighties but he was still in great spirits, and when he kept a straight face, it still had the power to suppress those beneath him.


    But of course, there were no other times where he did not keep a straight face.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhong Yan responded.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Stalvern put down his cup, ¡°Impetuous! Have you read the council records in these recent years? When that impulsive idiot mentioned this seven years ago, he wrote the plan without even investigating it! And the media wrote him out to be a mess, causing the project to get stuck in discussion for months, and it ended up not passing anyways. The council was questioned and ridiculed by the public for this, have you forgotten about that?! What kind of place do you think the Navi System is? A safe haven for fugitives! A criminal¡¯s paradise! All the people there are desperate men with nothing to lose! Are you going to take responsibility if anything happens?¡±


    ¡°Sir Yate, those things happened many years ago. Right now¡­I heard they¡¯ve already reorganized the place, it¡¯s not the same as before.¡±


    ¡°Not the same?!¡± Stalvern was getting even more furious. He knocked his cane heavily on the ground. ¡°From heaven for murderers to a haven of anti-AI antagonists? What¡¯s different about them! The latter are even more wicked, and their sins are even heavier! What¡¯s more, you said you heard about the change, but from whom? Nobody can say for sure what Navi has truly become!¡±


    ¡°Actually, about the investigations¡­there are many residents from the Navi System who have taken photos to broadcast their own lives.¡±


    ¡°Those are all fake! What have you been doing in the council all these years? Can you really believe in that nonsense in the virtual community that comes from a place with no AI supervision?¡±


    ¡°What you say is true,¡± Zhong Yan answered respectfully. ¡°And that is where the difficulty lies. Since we can¡¯t grasp the true situation of the opponent, I¡¯ve thought of an idea. We will lead ¡®Butterfly¡¯ into Navi as a pretense.¡±


    ¡°A pretense?¡±


    The current¡­the current military forces over there have taken full control over the Navi region. We need a strong enough reason to send our men into the Navi System to shake the upper-levels of the opponent. And I believe that this is a big enough reason that could shake their upper hierarchy.¡±


    Stalvern¡¯s face eased up considerably. ¡°Tell me about your thoughts in detail.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Navi Military Command Headquarters, Intelligence Department


    ¡°Twenty-four years old, a man with either the name or surname of Intron. We have indeed found one in the Supreme Institution. Intron Gines, here is the image.¡±


    The head of the intelligence department turned the virtual screen to Fayn and Adrian. With just one glance, Fayn immediately answered, ¡°No doubt about it, it¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡°This Mr. Gines scored highly when he studied in the Supreme Institution and performed well, but there has been no clear information about which side he stands on. The professors he is usually close to all stand on neutral sides. During his graduation ceremony, he accepted ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposal and entered the Capital¡¯s Inspection Bureau. A year later, he entered the sub-council of one of the planets surrounding the Capital to work. From there, he gained great achievements, and later the Supreme Council¡­Um,¡± The person in charge had an awkward pause. He looked at the expressionless Adrian and changed his wording. ¡°The Supreme Council¡¯s newest elected member, um¡­he, he was a little on the younger side, so when it came time to form his team, he picked up a few of the young people from the common councils¡ªperhaps due to the fact that it may be awkward for those older than him to be working under him. In short, there is one Mr. Gines in the council, and he is in general, a very lucky man.¡±


    ¡°About the professors he was close to during his time in the Supreme Institution,¡± Adrian mused, ¡°do you have a list?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I understand what you mean and have already made the comparisons; these seemingly neutral professors are all on the list we¡¯ve just received from the Institution Star.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, then that makes sense!¡± Fayn suddenly struck his palm with his fist ¡°This man is quite likely to be someone from the Institution¡¯s branch of ¡®Specimen¡¯ since his school days¡ªOh, upon calculation, the time seems to coincide with the time before the organization started to grow, then there¡¯s a good possibility that he has also personally participated in the construction of the Institution Star¡¯s branch of ¡®Specimen¡¯. He even contacted some of the professors, and they may have likely sorted out that list long ago. For him to enter the Supreme Council so coincidentally, I don¡¯t believe that it¡¯s luck at all, he must have a powerful backer! Commander, say¡­¡± He approached Adrian and whispered, ¡°He¡¯s the one who personally picked him to join the Supreme Council, and he was also one of the men he brought to the school¡¯s celebration, do you think¡­¡±


    ¡°Not possible,¡± said Adrian matter-of-factly, ¡°His backer must have helped him get close to Zhong Yan only because Zhong Yan¡¯s position is high enough, and he is also young. Those old codgers won¡¯t recruit such a young person to their team, so the only way to avoid attention is to place him by Zhong Yan¡¯s side.¡±


    To think that there was actually someone from ¡°Specimen¡± within the Supreme Council, and that person even occupied such a security-sensitive position. When the head of the intelligence department heard this, he quickly followed on with Adrian¡¯s words, ¡°Then Counselor Zhong Yan is¡­¡± Just as he brought this up, he could see Fayn desperately shaking his head and waving in great panic behind Adrian.


    It was too late.


    The person responsible had not even reacted to what had just happened when the ceramic cup in Adrian¡¯s hands zoomed right past his ear. With a ¡°crash¡±, it turned to dust on the wall right behind him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t f*cking mention his name in front of me! How many times have I said it?! Do any of you have any brains?!¡±

 Chapter 12 - Federation Wide Prohibition

    ¡°Co¡­Commander¡­¡± The second lieutenant who came to send a message had just arrived at the door when he ran into the thunderous scene of Adrian¡¯s rage. When he listened carefully to its content, he realized that someone had actually stepped on the Commander¡¯s ¡°minefield¡±, and suddenly he could feel the strong urge to turn around and leave in case he got dragged into it.


    The entire Navi Military Command¡ªah no, every single person within the Navi System knew that their commander was not a harsh boss; in fact, he usually did not put on airs when he was with ordinary soldiers nor even with ordinary citizens due to his young age. He had a prestigious reputation in Navi, and he would rarely get angry or make things hard for his subordinates; even if he did get angry, it would pass very quickly. However, there was a single spot in the ¡°minefield¡± that you must absolutely never step on.


    And it was that person from the very far end of the Federation, the one who stayed in the bustling Capital.


    Some say that when the Commander had just arrived at Navi, he was only holding a nominal title with no real power to speak of. His position was very low, and the entire Federation was still gossiping about the fallout of the Twin Stars at the time; even the remote Navi was no exception. There would always be people asking Adrian questions about that person. After Adrian showed his position on the matter and made it clear for others not to bring him up in front of him ever, most people were tactful and stopped asking.


    But during that time, there was a young captain who, due to having a fierce fighting style, made quite an impact in that region. He had no care for a young man who had just come out of school at the age of twenty. To him, this great young master was just someone who came from a good family, and most of the people from that school had also gotten there by paying themselves in. So, since he had already fallen apart with his family, there was nothing worth being worried about.


    Finally, after asking him in front of the public, ¡°Have you slept with Zhong Yan?¡±, Adrian slammed the table and shouted in the quiet canteen. ¡°I slept with 18 generations of your ancestors so they could give birth to a stupid c*nt like you!¡±


    There were many different combat ranking lists in the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution¡¯s School of Military Affairs, and one of them was a comprehensive ranking called the solo combat ranking list. It combines all their data and ranks each person based on their combined battle prowess. The list was updated in real-time, and Adrian remained at the top of the list for the entire year, setting the record for the longest time at the top in this half of the century; and this was also why the School of Military affairs granted him the honorary title of Chief.


    As for how much weight the ranking held, the remote Navi System had no idea. But since that day, they felt it; they felt it with their own bodies.


    In the chaotic region of the Navi System, the toughness of your fist was true power. When there was a fight to see, it would be beheld by everyone in jovial spirits, and they would spontaneously be buried within a flesh circle, granting them a temporary stage.


    Fayn wanted to rush in to break up the fight, but he was stopped by the spectating crowd. Everyone was pulling him back in cheerful spirits, asking him not to spoil the fun.


    ¡°Spoil my ass! If you¡¯re not going to stop it, then just prepare a funeral for that idiot!¡± Just two hands were not enough for Fayn to fight his way over to them, and since he could not get near, he could only shout, ¡°Boss! Go easy on him! Don¡¯t kill him!¡±


    At first, everyone thought it was a joke; but before five minutes could even pass, the crowd was getting anxious; every inch of the young captain was covered in blood, and his complexion was getting pale. He could hardly breathe, but he was still panting heavily; from the looks of it, he was nearly gone, but nobody went in to stop them¡ªthere were two subordinates from the captain¡¯s team that tried to get in when they saw that things were turning out very badly, but their arms were broken in just a few hits, leaving them to yell in pain as they writhed on the ground. One of them was kicked out and landed on a wall¡ªEven to this day, he was still unable to get up.


    Nobody would have thought that this young master who came from one of the most affluent families in the Capital would be so fierce in a fight. Fortunately, he still seemed to retain his rationality. He had no intention of taking his life, so when the Captain was beaten to the point where he could no longer even move, he turned to the crowd.


    ¡°I said don¡¯t mention that name in front of me, did all of you get that?¡±


    Blood was still streaked across his face and the aura seeping from his body was suffocating. Nobody dared to meet his eyes, and the crowd that was watching the show with loud enthusiasm was now quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop.


    ¡°Get this trash to a hospital, I¡¯ll settle the medical bill.¡± He kicked the man on the ground and turned to Fayn, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The Captain had to stay in the intensive care unit for several days before they managed to get him out alive. Adrian had been punished for that incident, but he had also made a name for himself with just one fight and was soon transferred to the combat division. He made many contributions as soon as he began, and his promotions brought him higher and higher.


    After that, there were several cases where others had also committed this taboo, be it accidentally or intentionally. Without exception, all of them had a tragic end. By the time Adrian ascended to the highest position within the military, this had become a rule of survival within the Navi System, and nobody dared to commit that sin ever again.


    ¡°Come in.¡± With his sharp eyes, Fayn managed to catch that little second lieutenant, and quickly stop him, ¡°What do you need?¡±


    Adrian barely managed to suppress his fury and turned his attention towards the newcomer.


    The second lieutenant was trembling with fear. ¡°The meeting¡­the meeting room upstairs asked me to come for the commander.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be heading up first,¡± Adrian calmed his emotions and said, ¡°You two continue.¡±


    After he left, the person in charge of the intelligence department had completely melted on his chair. Still in shock, he said, ¡°Oh mother, I thought I¡¯d die there!¡±


    Fayn said to him, ¡°He¡¯s still giving face to civilians like you, if you were any other guy from the army, he would¡¯ve been sent to the hospital by now. Ah, the last time someone got signed into the hospital by him was only three years ago, it¡¯s still quite a recent event, when are you ever going to learn?¡±


    ¡°I just went with the flow!¡± The person in charge wanted to cry, ¡°He said it himself so many times! I thought their relationship finally eased up after they bumped into each other again!¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t eased up, and from what I can see, it¡¯s gotten worse,¡± Fayn grumbled, ¡°And to think you¡¯re doing intelligence work.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, Adjutant Suster¡­¡± The person in charge suddenly lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t our commander go to the other party¡¯s ship to talk about the fines before you left the Institution Star? So, did it fall through?¡±


    Fayn peered over at him. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°The entire Federation knows! The names of both of them are still displayed together in the marriage matching system! There¡¯s at least one person out there eyeing the marriage system at every moment to check whether their names have been removed or not.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the signal was quite bad during the flight these last two days, so I didn¡¯t really look at it. What¡¯re they saying in the comments now?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all guessing how high the penalty fine is for the Commander to actually have to discuss it with the other party. And also, since there were no results even after the discussion, could it be that both of them can¡¯t afford to pay it even with their buying power combined?¡±


    Even though Zhong Yan was the one in the car that was heading towards Zhong Yan¡¯s personal spacecraft and not Adrian, Fayn knew that the two of them had met privately before that, so they must have been discussing about it. When he heard that hypothesis, even he himself started to speculate, ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­right? How high could the penalties in the divorce category be? At most, a single fine would be around a hundred thousand? Or a hundred and fifty? Impossible, just thirty years ago there was a council member who refused to marry a noble lady from the Capital, and the base fine was only ninety thousand, which was already the highest number recorded so far. Even if only one of them refuses and has to pay five times the amount, it still shouldn¡¯t be an amount that would bother either of them, right?¡±


    The person in charge responded anxiously, ¡°Could ¡®Butterfly¡¯ have raised the fines to make things hard for the Commander on purpose? If the base fine really was at something like two hundred million or so¡­we could crowdfund it for him.¡±


    Fayn rolled his eyes. ¡°If it really is that high we won¡¯t even have time to celebrate, we can just put out an announcement and the uproar of the public itself would be enough to drown ¡®Butterfly¡¯ to death. What¡¯s more, do you really think they can¡¯t afford a hundred or two hundred millions? Do you think we haven¡¯t been rob¡ªcough, I mean, knocking down enough criminals these years?!¡±


    The Navi Military Command was in no way short of money, and as one of the people in charge, he knew it full well. However, this only made things more confusing.


    ¡°Alright, gossip time is over.¡± Fayn stood up, ready to leave. He patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Stop worrying about it, the penalty has a limit of one month, we¡¯ll know the results by then.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The Capital, Yate Family Residence. Another conversation coming to an end.


    ¡°¡­Yes, just say it like that during the afternoon meeting,¡± Stalvern concluded.


    Zhong Yan lowered his gaze. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The expression on Stalvern¡¯s face finally eased up.


    As always, Zhong Yan was ready to hear and accept him, which helped dispel his dissatisfaction with Zhong Yan¡¯s recent behavior of taking action without telling him first. After talking about business, the atmosphere softened considerably. Stalvern changed the topic. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a kid called¡­Intron in your office? And that you¡¯ve been quite fond of him, have you?¡±


    Even for such personal matters within the personal office of a counselor, he had received news in just a short while. Not only that, he was even letting Zhong Yan know without any intention of hiding it.


    ¡°Intron?¡± Zhong Yan repeated the name, confused. After a while, he suddenly had an epiphany. ¡°He came early today and I had some records that I urgently needed, so I had him do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all, is it? Did he not replace Bayer for a while in the Institution Star? If it was Bayer, he would not have left you to give the Capital a response in such a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is true that he is too young, and is lacking in terms of thoughtfulness,¡± Zhong Yan echoed his thoughts, and went on, ¡°but I do have the intention to nurture him. Compared to the others, he is quite well-versed in his work and he also happens to be an underclassman of mine from the same school. From what I¡¯ve heard from him, he is quite an ambitious one.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Stalvern picked up his own cup and took a sip of water at his own leisure. For Zhong Yan to take the initiative to tell him his thoughts made him feel rather reassured, so he was not angry with him. Unhurriedly, he asked, ¡°Zhong Yan¡­are you starting to find Bayer to be a hindrance?¡±


    ¡°How could I?¡± Zhong Yan smiled. ¡°What gave you that thought? Without Sir Bayer¡¯s help, I would not be able to say a single word in the council. My respect for him is second only to you. Only, the disparity of age within my team is truly too large, and Mr. Bayer¡¯s body seems to not be in the best condition lately. I¡¯m worried that he would receive his retirement proposal one day, then for a while after that¡­I can¡¯t help it, even if they¡¯re unfit, we still have to pick the most qualified among them, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    The choice of words he picked was ¡°we¡±, which made Stalvern feel very much at ease to hear. He had originally been prepared to reprimand Zhong Yan before he came, but it became a fairly mild warning instead. ¡°You called him too young, but so are you! That brat has also noticed this problem of yours, so he¡¯s caught onto the opportunity to climb up. Moreover, did you think that Bayer¡¯s absence due to illness was a coincidence?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes widened slightly, and his body drooped forward. Due to his surprise, he even interrupted Stalvern with disregard. ¡°That was not a coincidence? Could he be¡­¡±


    Stalvern tolerated his gaffe and confirmed it. ¡°Of course not. Hmph, it¡¯s an old trick in the council. You¡¯ll be able to hear about some of these tricks if you stay just a few years longer in there. Do you think everyone¡¯s like you? To be able to walk up the ranks so smoothly? Bayer was only caught by that brat¡¯s tricks because he wasn¡¯t prepared! He¡¯s ambitious, and tricky as well. He¡¯s not much younger than you, but you should still keep an eye out and protect yourself!¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded in enlightenment. He had just wanted to add on a few more words when the terminal on his wrist gave a prompt to receive a message.


    Stalvern was displeased. ¡°Do you not have the decency to mute your terminal when you¡¯re speaking with me?!¡±


    A small crack emerged on Zhong Yan¡¯s mask for a short moment, but he tried his best to suppress it and apologized obediently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve forgotten to mute it today.¡±


    Saying that, he reached out to one of the shortcuts on the side of his terminal. What Stalvern did not see, however, was that he had pressed it twice, and his hands were slightly shaking.


    He had always been cautious towards Stalvern, so how could he have forgotten to mute it! He opened it, but the notification still rang.


    There was only one message, and it was set to ignore mute within his terminal¡¯s settings.


    This was something that happened eight years ago in that dormitory. When they were laughing and messing about, Adrian grabbed his terminal and turned on the setting himself.

 Chapter 13 - Old Times

    Your hometown status has always been set to the Capital, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ has the right to modify your marital status which is a very dangerous situation for you,¡± the old minister of the Navi Military Region Headquarters¡¯ legal department trailed behind Adrian and babbled on endlessly, ¡°Once you are married, your spouse will automatically receive a range of rights, including, but not limited to, debt sharing, common property processing, arranging the inheritance order¡ªCommander! Are you listening? This is a very important¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening, I¡¯m listening. Getting married is very scary, I can¡¯t get married, I got it, I won¡¯t get married.¡± Adrian stopped helplessly in front of his office. ¡°And compared to that, I have some very important work to deal with right now, Minister Winter. Let¡¯s continue our law class next time, alright?¡±


    The old minister was very dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude, so with a glare and a huff, he said to him, ¡°Commander, it¡¯s not scary to get married! What¡¯s scary is marrying the wrong person at the wrong time! We are at an important juncture, we can¡¯t have any mishaps now! If you have to pay a fine, then you should just pay it now. It is no big deal to surrender temporarily to the AI. Sometimes, you need to compromise to¡­¡±


    Seeing that he was going to start another long speech, Adrian quickly interrupted him. ¡°Yes, yes, I will definitely pay the fine as soon as I can, so I will be going now, take care, goodbye.¡±


    Without even giving the other man a chance to respond, he slipped straight back into his office in a flash and shut the door.


    The world was finally quiet.


    ¡­¡­


    Countless people were making speculations; was he dawdling on paying the fine because he was unwilling to send money ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± way? This saying was spread throughout the Navi Military Command, and after a high-level meeting, many people have tried vaguely to hint to him that things can be settled with a moment of tolerance and that he should not let money influence his emotions. For the sake of obtaining greater benefits, he should be willing to show temporary tolerance towards any person in the Federation, including ¡°Butterfly¡±¡ªif AI could also be considered human.


    But not Zhong Yan.


    He could endure having to pay several hundreds of thousands to ¡°Butterfly¡± just to nullify the marriage contract, but he was unwilling to pay even a single penny for Zhong Yan. He used to spend a lot of time, money, energy, and care on Zhong Yan¡­but he would never do something stupid like that ever again.


    The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Adrian turned on the virtual screen of his terminal and dug Zhong Yan¡¯s account out from his blacklist. With quick fingers, he typed out a line of words on the virtual keys.


    ¡°There are 27 days left to pay the fine. I¡¯m warning you, if I don¡¯t receive the money within the time limit, this will not end at a mere three hundred and sixty thousand.¡±


    Anyways, it probably won¡¯t be sent out; Zhong Yan must have blacklisted his contact information as well. Adrian casually clicked on ¡®send¡¯, and waited for the ¡°Your message has failed to send¡± prompt to appear.


    But that error did not appear. After being stunned for several seconds, Adrian finally realized what just happened.


    The message actually sent out normally; he was not on Zhong Yan¡¯s blacklist.


    In just a few minutes, he received a response. ¡°You may handle it however you wish. I have no money. I have a meeting to attend, it might take a while.¡±


    Adrian stared at the reply with gloom looming over his face.


    In the past, whenever Zhong Yan was unable to give him an immediate response, he would always tell him in advance what he was going to do and how long it was going to take, in case his response never comes.


    Until today, he still retained that habit; even if that ¡°a while¡± may be related to having a discussion on how to deal with him, he had done it so naturally that for a moment, Adrian could feel a jab of pain from it.


    This is how he always was; as if nothing was wrong, he could accept the invitation to participate in the school¡¯s celebration, return to that juice shop to take a look, and also mouth to him the ciphers they shared in the past; it was as if¡­nothing ever happened between them. That was how heartless he was.


    I¡¯m really making things hard for myself, Adrian thought. Once again, he returned that account to his blacklist.


    The main building of the Supreme Council had a total of nine floors, and the eighth floor was the round table meeting room for those at the very top.


    Zhong Yan had reached the eighth floor early. There were two parts to the room outside of the round table meeting room at the center, and the part closest to the conference room was a waiting area for the twelve council members to use before the conference begins. Here, they could participate in idle chatter, or make their final preparations. The outer part was the walking area, and all the assistants of the council members will be here.


    Zhong Yan was walking on the eighth floor with Bayer right behind him. Two pairs of leather shoes stepped across the smooth marble floor, and the sound echoed in the silent space.


    They stopped right before entering the waiting area. Bayer spoke, ¡°Please check through the information again after you enter. You are proposing in this round table meeting, you must not be careless. Have you muted your terminal?¡±


    Zhong Yan hesitated for a moment, and said, ¡°One second.¡±


    He opened his inbox to check; no new messages. The final message within was still the message he sent, which said, ¡°I have a meeting to attend to, it might take a while.¡±


    In the past, Adrian would never allow him to be the one to end a conversation, but that was all in the past. Zhong Yan pursed his lips and enlarged Adrian¡¯s portrait. He cannot take any risks, what if a message suddenly comes from Adrian during the meeting?


    It¡¯s fine to just turn off that setting. When he comes out of the meeting, he can turn it on again.


    Bayer watched as Zhong Yan¡¯s fingers hovered over the terminal. His face was expressionless, and for a few seconds, he did not make a single move. Then the terminal was set to opaque, so nobody behind the screen could see the contents. Bayer could not tell what he was doing, but he could not help himself from asking in dissatisfaction, ¡°Sir Zhong, what are you doing? The eighth floor is not a place for daydreaming!¡±


    A trace of displeasure emerged in Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes. He was just about to shut off the screen when he heard a collection of footsteps coming from not far away.


    Two people emerged from around the bend. The one walking in front looked to be about the age of sixty or so, but his pace was steady, and his suit was well-fitting; clearly he was a man who put effort into maintaining his body. He had a broad jawline with dense brows, a look that exudes an air of righteousness. Even though he had already reached the end of his middle ages, and inevitably, signs of aging had also crawled its way onto his appearance, a faint shadow of youthfulness could still be vaguely seen. Behind him was his first-in-command: a younger middle-aged man.


    ¡°Counselor Zhong.¡±


    ¡°Counselor Cayman.¡±


    Vahl Cayman greeted Zhong Yan and spoke to him in a polite tone. ¡°I see the both of us are early. There¡¯s still quite a long wait to go, so let¡¯s go for a smoke.¡±


    Bayer was just about to refuse him, but Zhong Yan agreed to his invitation.


    Bayer¡¯s face turned sour in an instant.


    Zhong Yan tagged along behind Vahl and entered the smoking room. He shut the door behind him and plainly remarked, ¡°I don¡¯t smoke.¡±


    ¡°I know, me neither,¡± said Vahl. He sat down on the soft and comfortable sofa before calling out to Zhong Yan, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand, come sit.¡±


    ¡°No need, please speak.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no good, you are my equal. It is not proper for me to sit if you do not,¡± Vahl joked, ¡°Please give an aging old man some consideration, hm?¡±


    Zhong Yan took a seat on the sofa opposite him. He was not sure what Vahl wanted to talk to him about, but after some hesitation, he still said, ¡°Sir Cayman, there is actually not much difference be it here or outside.¡±


    It seemed to be only the two of them within the smoking room, but they knew that it was just the same as the outside; this area was also under strict surveillance.


    His words were laced with ambiguity, but Vahl understood him. He responded, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I just didn¡¯t want that old codger outside to hear. I guarantee you, it will reach his master¡¯s ears in less than five minutes. It¡¯s distasteful.¡±


    Vahl was also born within a noble family, and both the Cayman and Yate families were quite close originally, but Vahl Cayman had an old grudge with Stalvern. Ever since they rose up as their family¡¯s patriarchs, the two families have completely broken off.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± said Zhong Yan. After some hesitation, he continued, ¡°From my observations, he seems to make his reports once every half hour.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, no kidding?¡± Vahl shook his head as he laughed, ¡°That old man¡­Zhong Yan, I should have given you this advice a long time ago, but that old man has already reached an obsessive level in his megalomania, you should stay away from him.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not respond, but Vahl did not plan to continue this topic here either. He did not care, and continued on himself, ¡°Well, I¡¯m stepping over my boundaries here. Zhong Yan, I asked you here today to ask about something¡­You¡¯ve met up with Adrian, correct?¡±


    Zhong Yan kept silent and looked at him quietly.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t like him, nor do you like being asked about matters between the two of you.¡± Vahl leaned forward and spoke in a sincere tone, ¡°I won¡¯t ask too much about the rest, but is he doing well?¡±


    Zhong Yan had known of this council member before graduating, and they had also met once then.


    It was during the time when they were going onto their second year and were moved to separate campuses. Vahl had come to visit Adrian with bags of snacks and daily necessities. Adrian had refused him several times, but finally, Vahl had given a bitter smile. ¡°I know you¡¯ve grown up. You have your own way of thinking, and you don¡¯t take kindly to my work. But Adrian, just take it as¡­my apologies, treat it as a gift from your family.¡±


    Only then did Adrian accept his gifts. Later, when they were sharing the snacks together, Adrian told him about the story of the legendary counselor.


    Before Zhong Yan, the record of the youngest representative member of council was set by Vahl Cayman. He had reached that position at the mere age of thirty; but unlike Zhong Yan, he had the natural support of his family. He grew up within the Capital Star and had many contacts. For some time, he held unparalleled glory, but in less than half a year since he became an elected member of council, he refused ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± optimal marriage partner proposal on the reason that he had a lover, setting the highest divorce penalty in history: a base fine of more than ninety thousand.


    In the unaccepting social environment of the time, and as a representative member of council, this act caused a great uproar. You could tell how much of a sensation it caused at the time just by looking at the price of the fines alone. But time proved that this move also caused the decline of the Cayman family. Currently, Vahl was one of the longest-standing members in the House of Representatives, but his right to voice his opinions was also considerably limited.


    The lover of Vahl at the time was his childhood sweetheart: the only direct descendant of the Yate family, Kelly Yate.


    The story behind it was very tragic. Kelly was deeply in love with Vahl as well, but it was pitiful that she had a weak character, and feared her own father very much. After receiving the marriage proposal in the next year, with tears flowing down her eyes, she was forced to marry a stranger under her father¡¯s threats. This man also did not wish to wed her, but he was quickly given ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± suggestion to bear a child. Stalvern made the two of them copulate their marriage, which had completely strengthened the man¡¯s resolution to escape. When Kelly was pregnant, the man knocked out the servants in the residence, and fled with their personal spacecraft, fleeing to the Navi System.


    Perhaps, Stalvern was the only person who looked forward to Adrian¡¯s birth. In Adrian¡¯s memories, his mother was not close to him. Every day, her tears would wash down her face, and just a few years later, she ended her own life with a knife in her chest.


    Vahl later refused another marriage proposal and remained single even till now.

 Chapter 14 - False God

    Zhong Yan was stunned.


    It was such a simple question, but he could not find the answer. Was Adrian doing well? He wished he could ask about it from someone in the past as well, but there was nobody he could ask; he could only look up all the news he could of the Navi System behind his back, and try to find out everything about him from all those news and images he collected. Then, when Adrian¡¯s position rose higher and higher, and could no longer avoid being tied to all the news related to Navi, the news that emerged from the Navi System became less and less.


    By the time they finally met, he was so caught up with dealing with Adrian¡¯s fury, so caught up with their argument about the refusal fines¡ªthat he forgot to ask that question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zhong Yan heard himself say. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Vahl appeared to be a little disappointed but he still said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, my question was too abrupt.¡±


    An awkward silence surrounded the two for a moment.


    Vahl had been paying close attention to this young man since his graduation, not only because he was fresh blood in the Supreme Council, but also because of the relationship he shared with Adrian. Unfortunately, he quickly discovered with everyone else that this young man who was always so sleek with work could only respond the same, single way when faced with any questions concerning Adrian: with his silence.


    Vahl had seen Zhong Yan several times in private, but he had no idea why Zhong Yan was so much more amiable to him compared to the rest of the public. However, he would still never bring up what happened after his graduation.


    Later, when Zhong Yan got tangled up with the Yate family, Vahl no longer sought him out. But from what he could see today, Zhong Yan had no respect to speak of in regards to the Yate family.


    This helped Vahl regain some confidence in him, and he could not help adding on, ¡°Indeed, refusing ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposals during your upswing in work will affect the stability of your career.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him.


    ¡°But your case is special. After all, Adrian is¡­It would be understandable for you to refuse, you won¡¯t end up like I did.¡±


    Zhong Yan knew very well that Vahl had not told him this just for his sake; it was mostly for Adrian¡¯s. He had no descendants, so he had always taken Adrian as his own child.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhong Yan spoke in a soft murmur, ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    Vahl nodded. ¡°Time is almost up. We should head back.¡±


    Zhong Yan returned to the outer circle of the eighth floor and saw Bayer waiting for him with an unkindly expression.


    The round table meeting in which Zhong Yan would be proposing his bill was about to begin. Bayer had no time to nag him about his self-assertive behavior, and could only stand by with a sour look on his face.


    Zhong Yan had no care for whether he was happy or not. He reopened his terminal¡¯s settings and his finger stopped on the cancel button.


    He could set it again after turning it off, but¡­then it would not be set by Adrian himself anymore.


    Zhong Yan took the terminal off his wrist and handed it to Bayer. ¡°Hold onto this for me, I won¡¯t be bringing it in.¡±


    It was true that there were some council members who did not have the habit of bringing their terminals into major meetings, excluding themselves from the influence of all external factors. Zhong Yan did not have this habit, but this was also his first time attending a discussion as the proposer. He could have just been nervous, so Bayer did not think too much about it and held it for him. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time to head in.¡±


    Within the center of the eighth floor was a rotunda with an open center round table placed right at the center. Twelve high-back velvet chairs were placed evenly on the outer ring.


    The table was very large and the distance between each person was also very large, so it was not convenient for one-to-one communication. Even though half of the people had already arrived, it was still very quiet in the conference room.


    Zhong Yan sat down in his seat. Even though there were no regulations to it, everyone had agreed upon a certain seating position. For example, Vahl sat to Zhong Yan¡¯s right, and diagonally opposite to him was Bard Pearson. A few years back, they had the power of the now-retired council member Yate to rival his within the twelve member circle; but now that Stalvern has retired, he was the true ¡®man¡¯ among men in the entire Federation.


    It was quite ironic to speak about it, but this round table had been passed down from ancient times. The core spiritual values of the round table meeting originally reflected that all attendees were equal, and should not be separated into different speaking positions and so on; but what ended up happening was that a large hole had opened up at the center of this ¡°round table¡± for the sake of¡­


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here.¡± Bard started to speak, ¡°Everyone, please stand up.¡±


    Everyone stood up. Within the vast Federation, the twelve who stood at the very peak of human power was now standing respectfully towards the same direction.


    A translucent cylinder was illuminated through the center of the ring that went up to the circle on the ceiling, and gorgeous colors flowed through the cylinder slowly, creating a sacred image.


    This was the image projected down from the ninth floor, and they were the feelers that came from ¡®Butterfly¡¯.


    According to the records, when the development of the first generation of artificial intelligence was already near its completion more than two hundred years ago, the scientists considered giving it a specific image, but they eventually gave up on that idea. That was because the first generation¡¯s artificial intelligence was not yet mature, and its personality was not perfect. Thus, when the codename of ¡°Cocoon¡± was put into use, it had only received technology, data, objective facts, and so on.


    More than a hundred years of development later, with the help of the constant efforts of the AI¡¯s own self-updating system itself, they made a breakthrough in AI research, and the second generation AI¡¯s personality was completed and perfected.


    It was always tolerant, mournful, fair, pure, and incapable of hate; it was both mighty and wise.


    Instead of calling it artificial intelligence, it would be better to say that the humans, for their own sakes, had created¡­a god.


    Only, were humans really capable of creating gods?


    After a brief greeting, everyone took their seats, but Zhong Yan remained standing.


    ¡°My fellow colleagues, everyone¡¯s time is precious so I will skip the opening remarks.¡± He continued, ¡°We have been in a deadlock on the Navi Star System issue for two years, and I believe everyone has seen my proposal. Before we start to discuss the possibilities of the project, let me just add one thing¡ªI believe that the one most suited to be sent to Navi is I, myself.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Intron was somewhat absent-minded. But fortunately, he was not the only one, so he did not stand out.


    A meeting was held within the rarely used eighth floor of the building, and the personnel working around Zhong Yan¡¯s office were worrying over whether it would be successful or not; that was because this was the first time their superior had proposed a bill since being elected as a representative member.


    Compared to the thought of whether their superior could give an awe-inspiring speech, thus maintaining his stable position to bring up his and his subordinates¡¯ reputations, Intron cared more about the results of their discussion.


    Therefore, when Zhong Yan and Bayer had returned to the office, everyone was nervous. However, Bayer maintained a straight deadpan expression the whole day, while Zhong Yan was a conservative man when it came to his emotions; nothing could be picked out from the two.


    ¡°Everyone, leave your work aside for a moment.¡± Zhong Yan started to speak.


    There was actually no need for such words, as everyone had already stopped doing their work the second he came in.


    ¡°The bill has been passed. In a week, I will be departing to the NaviSystem as a special commissioner.¡±


    Intron was cheering with his colleagues, celebrating the passing of Zhong Yan¡¯s second bill since joining the Supreme Council¡ªthe first one being the giant space rabbit hunting ban¡ªhowever, his heart was sinking.


    Zhong Yan continued, ¡°Everyone, I¡¯ve made you wait for a long time. It¡¯s not early anymore, so you should all return home.¡±


    Those in the office happily tidied up their stuff, while Bayer had also said his goodbyes to Zhong Yan. Intron was reluctantly cheering with his colleagues when he heard Zhong Yan say, ¡°I believe my coffee cup from this morning has yet to be washed, one of you¡­Intron, help me wash it before you leave, I still need it tomorrow.¡±


    His colleagues looked at him sympathetically, but they still sped up their tidying and left.


    Did he really come from civilian origins? Does he really need to ask someone to wash his cup?


    Giving in to his fate, Intron left his half-tidied table aside and left begrudgingly for the coffee room; but he was stunned after seeing the cup rack in the room.


    With the time it took him to go to and fro from the office, everyone had already cleared out by the time he returned. At the other end, the door to Zhong Yan¡¯s private office opened, and his boss walked out.


    When he saw Intron he asked, ¡°Done so soon?¡±


    ¡°Sir Zhong, your cup was already cleaned¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He responded in a nonchalant tone. ¡°I must have forgotten.¡±


    Isn¡¯t this bullying? Intron rolled his eyes in his mind.


    Zhong Yan looked towards the empty table of his first-in-command and frowned. ¡°Has Bayer already left?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he must have left with everyone just now.¡±


    Zhong Yan continued on, ¡°I¡¯ve just finished writing the report, and I thought I¡¯d have him organize them before he left. I guess it¡¯ll have to wait.¡±


    Intron¡¯s heart sped up. After steadying himself, he said, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s better to file the records today¡­I can help you with them.¡±


    Intron had never felt so impatient at a bottleneck before.


    To be honest, he could not care about the consequences of going against the bottleneck, but he was worried that Zhong Yan would realize something off about him. As soon as he filed the records, he rushed home in his car.


    Even if he had superior memory, it was still a bit difficult to memorize the records of such a long meeting in such a short time. Fortunately, the contents were logical and easy to absorb, so he won¡¯t be forgetting it too soon.


    When he reached his home, he quickly grabbed a pen and paper before locking himself in the bathroom without even taking off his shoes.


    ¡­¡­


    After dinner, somebody rung Intron¡¯s doorbell.


    ¡°Hello, sir! May I have two minutes of your time?¡± Two girls with sweet smiles were standing outside the door. One of them had a few books in her hand made of real paper, while the other was holding a box filled with a stack of colorfully printed brochures.


    ¡°We are volunteers in the promotion of paper-based books,¡± The brochure girl handed one of the brochures to him. It was actually made of real paper as well. ¡°The purpose of our organization is to promote the beauty of physical reading, and to let everyone¡­¡±


    Intron grumbled impatiently. ¡°What¡¯s this? What kind of organization is this? Is it registered? Are you done yet? What era do you think we¡¯re in? Who does door-to-door sales anymore?! One of your rabble came last week. Now shoo, don¡¯t interrupt my gaming time.¡±


    Then, he was about to close the door when the girl quickly blocked him. ¡°Come on, sir, you don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry. We¡¯re a nonprofit organization! Did you accept the book we offered last week? Do you want to take a look at our brochure¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn your brochure, they stuffed one on me last time!¡± Intron cut her off before grabbing the thin booklet at his shoe rack. The cover was exactly the same as the one the girl was holding. ¡°Just take it and keep it for yourself!¡±


    He threw the brochure into the girl¡¯s box and closed the door.


    The girl shook her head and turned to her companion. ¡°Such a bad temper. Come on, let¡¯s go to the next house.¡±


    They visited a lot of homes this evening, and most of them were uninterested, but it was not unproductive. One of the boys from the specimen shop had left them a brochure, and hinted for them to read it.


    The contents of what Intron had written down on those pages had become data encrypted layers upon layers and was then decrypted and copied before being sent off through physical transmission. Later, it was electronically re-encrypted and went through a few more hoops before finally, three days later, it appeared in the distant Navi System without a single letter missing, atop the table of the highest-ranking commander of the military.

 Chapter 15 - Accident

    ¡°Since we don¡¯t really plan to push for ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ envelopment of Navi, we don¡¯t need to pay any attention to the special commissioner.¡±


    Another officer added, ¡°Yes, the meeting record shows that they are quite eager to obtain reliable information about the situation here. Both the spacecraft and the special commissioner will be carrying a lot of hidden video recording devices, but we can simply forbid them from entering. They can just take their videos at the border.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not appropriate, ¡± a young military officer voiced his objections, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the authenticity of the meeting records for now, but even if it is authentic, how would the tides of the public change? ¡®Butterfly¡¯ is about to enter Navi and we¡¯re choosing to remain silent and refusing to communicate. We know that it¡¯s just a pretense, that it¡¯s fake, but the masses don¡¯t know that. What¡¯s more, I still have my doubts on the authenticity of this information. Is it really possible to obtain such a detailed meeting record from the round table? There isn¡¯t a traitor within the twelve representative members, is there?¡±


    The other officer interjected, ¡°Come on now, that¡¯s no traitor, that¡¯s a man of insight!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re gonna fight me no matter what, huh?¡±


    Adrian rapped the table. ¡°Enough! Have you two ever not bickered during a meeting? Why don¡¯t the two of you fight it out outside?¡±


    The two officers quickly shut their mouths.


    The liaison officer by Adrian¡¯s left spoke, ¡°About this¡­from the unexpected information we had somehow gathered a few days ago¡­¡± As he spoke, he shot a glance towards Fayn who was seated right opposite of him. ¡°Even though I¡¯m not sure what the specifics of the operation is, but it is indeed possible for the record to be leaked.¡±


    Fayn nodded in agreement.


    Quiet sounds of bickering and whispered discussion filled the room. Another officer suggested, ¡°Then, what about meeting outside of the Navi System?¡±


    ¡°The other party is a special commissioner sent over to investigate whether the capital star of the Navi System is suitable for establishing a base signal station. I¡¯m afraid they may not agree to meeting outside of it.¡±


    ¡°But as long as they enter Navi, isn¡¯t it our call on where they go? Can they even make a forceful landing in the capital?¡±


    ¡°The problem isn¡¯t whether or not they¡¯re going to enter Navi! The recording devices they mentioned in their meeting that would be installed in the spacecraft will be able to detect any laser weapons present within an area that is almost half that of the planet. And which of our planets aren¡¯t equipped with any laser weapons?¡±


    Adrian suddenly spoke, ¡°White Aegis Star.¡±


    There aren¡¯t any laser weapons in White Aegis! Don¡¯t even mention laser or quantum weapons, there aren¡¯t many weapons there in the first place. They can investigate that planet however much they please.¡±


    The White Aegis was a very controversial planet; it was located on the border between Navi and its neighbouring star system. Strictly speaking, it belonged to the Labor System right beside Navi. Three years ago, a large number of rare ores were discovered beneath the soils of this little planet. ¡°Butterfly¡± made its judgement and transformed it from a residential planet to a resource planet. Migration proposals were then issued to the small number of residents on the planet.


    This was not a very wealthy planet, and transportation was very inconvenient, but the customs of the people were simple, and the residents felt a strong sense of belonging; they were unwilling to have their homes demolished in order to transform the entire planet into a cold mining facility. The sub-council within the Labor Star Division had made countless appeals to the capital to request the retention of their residency status on White Aegis, suggesting to turn the planet into a half-and-half of both, but they were all rejected.


    A year later, when a contracting company had been selected, the mining plan drafted, and the original inhabitants about to be forcefully evicted, White Aegis turned to the Navi System for help. In less than a week, the White Aegis¡¯ planetary region¡¯s sub-council announced its separation from the Labor System to merge with the Navi System instead. The Labor System feigned ignorance and allowed it, claiming that they were being threatened by the military force of Navi¡¯s troops and that it was only for security reasons that they will silently allow the separation of White Aegis. By the time the people from the capital had arrived, the planet had long been under Navi System¡¯s control, and they were stopped by the newly-expanded boundaries.


    The capital did not recognize this private agreement, so the planet was still classified within the Labor System in their officially released star map. But in reality, it had already become one of the outermost planets in the Navi System.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for them to enter Navi. What they talked about in the meeting is clear. The special commissioner¡¯s ship will not be taking the fixed route; they are prepared to avoid the public eye by taking a detour to the south of the Labor System. In other words, they will be entering from the southern borders directly opposite of us. We will intercept them directly near the Labor System, and force them to change their route, making them land on White Aegis,¡± said Adrian in a firm and steady tone.


    They remembered very well the particulars of this plan that they had heard of in the records where Zhong Yan described in detail the route he was going to take. He was even ridiculed by Bard, saying that he could ¡°tell it to your own men instead, there is no need to tell us this¡±.


    The officers present were all a little surprised. With some hesitation, Fayn spoke. ¡°Commander, do we intercept them with direct force? Those are the people from the Supreme Council, should we not at least show them a little courtesy¡­?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Adrian firmly refused. ¡°If he wants to come to my territory, he will play by my rules.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Commander! Boss, boss! Hold on!¡± Fayn rushed to catch up with Adrian, following him into his office. ¡°Don¡¯t walk so fast. Come on, tell me, how do you feel about that special commissioner?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Adrian was straightforward. ¡°No comments whatsoever.¡±


    Fayn pushed on. ¡°What do you mean ¡®no comments¡¯? It¡¯s not up to us to say what happens when he enters Navi. You have to tell us whether you want your order braised or fried after we catch him! What if we do something you¡¯re not satisfied with?¡±


    Adrian¡¯s voice was deep. ¡°Don¡¯t touch him!¡±


    As soon as he spoke, both of them were stunned. Adrian added on uneasily, ¡°Zhong Yan is a civilian, he¡¯s never fought in his entire life. On the other hand, you lot are people I¡¯ve personally brought up as soldiers. Even if you don¡¯t feel ashamed to be raising a hand against someone like that, I would¡­what¡¯s that look on your face?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hopeless. Do you still like him?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so jumpy about the topic.¡±Ò»Despite having a good temper, even Fayn was starting to feel a little disgruntled. ¡°When you first came to Navi, that sullen look on your face was pitiful! You said later that you got over it, but I¡¯m not blind. When we were on the Institution Star¡­You¡¯ve never once forgotten him. Listen, if you can¡¯t get over him after all these years, then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be cursed with it for life. And since you can¡¯t let him go, then don¡¯t pay those damn fines. Get married to him, find some reason to settle him down in Navi, and shut him into a dark room. What do you think?¡±


    Adrian hissed coldly, ¡°Are you mad? That¡¯s illegal imprisonment.¡±


    ¡°Ille¡­what? No, but you¡¯ve already illegally taken over an entire star system¡­¡±


    ¡°Fayn, I will not see him.¡± After some hesitation, Adrian still decided to add on, ¡°He will interfere with my judgment.¡±


    Fayn probed, ¡°What judgment?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? I could barely control myself when I saw him. What¡¯s more¡­¡± Adrian remembered the look of Zhong Yan¡¯s red eyes and tear covered face. Then, he remembered the scene in that surveillance room where he saw how he had curled up on that chair. Recalling back to what Fayn said about shutting him in a dark room¡­he gulped unconsciously. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°Anyway, he¡¯s going to bother me, so I¡¯ll just leave this to you and the liaison officer. I¡¯m not seeing him.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Xiao Yan,¡± Adrian circled his arms around Zhong Yan from behind and buried his face between the nook of his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m so hungry, how much longer do I have to wait¡­¡±


    ¡°Almost done!¡± With quick hands, Zhong Yan added a spoonful of seasoning into the pot. Adrian was much taller compared to him, and he was practically covered by the man¡¯s embrace, making it quite inconvenient for him to stir the pot. But he did not ask the other man to release him and instead continued to cook in such a difficult position.


    ¡°Are you really very hungry? Why don¡¯t I get you a small bowl to start with? Sorry, my class ended a little late today.¡± He continued on a little uneasily, ¡°I¡¯ll be quicker next time, then I¡¯ll definitely have food waiting for you when you come back¡­¡±


    There was only half a year to go before they graduated, and the unease he felt was growing stronger by the day. Adrian had put forward his idea of heading to Navi, and starting from scratch; Adrian had even told him that Fayn would be going with him.


    Fayn Suster, Adrian¡¯s good friend and classmate since their campuses were separated. On the first day of their second year, Adrian had told Zhong Yan about it when he returned, telling him that he had met a like-minded friend that he had easily hit it off with.


    Adrian was the only friend that Zhong Yan had, but Adrian had many besides him. Amongst them, Fayn was declared a good brother that he could confide in. He had even discussed with Zhong Yan once about whether he could invite Fayn to their dorm to hang out.


    Their dorm room was a place for only the two of them, how could anyone else be let inside! Zhong Yan knew that he came from a simple background, and he was worried that if he did anything wrong to incur Adrian¡¯s dislike, that he could not be close with him anymore, so he rarely refused Adrian and had always satisfied all his requests, whether it was big or small, as much as possible. However, he was very determined to refuse him that one time.


    The military division¡¯s campus was located far away from their dorm, and Adrian did not know how to cook, so Zhong Yan had taken up the responsibility of preparing dinner every night. Later, Adrian complained that the food in the canteen of the military division was too awful, so Zhong Yan decided simply to just buy a lunch box, and prepared his breakfast and lunch as well.


    Fortunately, his results were already dazzling enough. Not only were his tuition fees paid by scholarship, he even received ample pocket money, which was more than enough to cover the burden of feeding two mouths.


    ¡°Adrian,¡± During dinner that day, Zhong Yan tried to ask, ¡°if¡­somebody had different ideals, and goals from you, but for the sake of their own goals, had to do the same as you¡­would you work with a person like that?¡±


    Adrian responded very simply, ¡°No. Naturally, I would look for like-minded people to work with, why would I have to bother with people who held different ideals? What¡¯s wrong? Is it one of your debate topics again?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­yeah.¡± Zhong Yan lowered his head and pushed the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs in front of him. ¡°This is your favorite, but I¡¯m using a new brand of vinegar today. Give it a try, tell me what you think.¡±


    Just lie to him. Say that you are indirectly trying to save your nation, so you wish to collaborate with him. He can work towards the goal from the outside, and you can work on it from within. A small voice emerged within Zhong Yan¡¯s heart: What we wish to do is the same anyway, and since he trusts you so much, he won¡¯t be able to tell!


    But that was not true. Zhong Yan tossed and turned in the middle of the night. That¡¯s not it, I know I¡¯m not trying to save anybody. I¡¯m not doing it so I can help him, I¡¯m just doing this for myself. You could try to fool anybody, but that was Adrian¡­How could he lie to him?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°¡­Sir! Sir Zhong! Sir Zhong!!¡±


    The sound of banging could be heard coming from his door. Zhong Yan had been woken up from the noise, and it pulled him out from his dreams of seven years ago back to reality¡ªHe was now on a spacecraft heading towards the Navi System, and this was the fourth day of their travel. They were only one small region away from Navi.


    As he hurried to change his clothes, he shouted to Bayer behind the door, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Somebody has stopped our ship!¡±


    This was quite in line with Adrian¡¯s style, so Zhong Yan was not very surprised. He opened the door and asked as he walked side by side with Bayer, ¡°What are their demands? Are they asking to discuss outside of the Navi Star System? I said it was impossible¡­¡±


    ¡°Sir Zhong, it is not the people from the Navi System who stopped us.¡± Bayer¡¯s face distorted bitterly as he cut him off. ¡°They¡¯re space pirates, and they¡¯re demanding money.¡±

 Chapter 16 - Unwilling

    Those that wandered the universe consisted not only of the giant space rabbits, but also space pirates.


    The space piracy problem had been plaguing the Federation for hundreds of years. Ever since AI had been popularized throughout the universe, the problem had been solved to some degree. But, in the more remote areas, ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± hold on some star systems were not strong enough, thus the problem persisted till today. After all, the vast universe was unlike land, neither humans nor AI could control everything.


    Two years ago, the Navi System had gradually closed its borders, but it also made the public security around the area much better. For some time, the space pirates seemed to have gone extinct.


    Nobody would have expected to bump into space pirates here. What¡¯s more¡­Zhong Yan looked out at the spaceships floating outside from the porthole. The group of space pirates they had encountered this time did not seem to be small.


    ¡°Sir Zhong!¡± When the chief of security saw Zhong Yan, it was as if he had found his savior. He quickly said to him, ¡°There are too many people on the opponent¡¯s side, and their ships are heavily equipped. Our firepower is not comparable to them at all, but Bayer insists that we resist them. We¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan answered decisively, ¡°Give up the resistance, do not allow any casualties on our end.¡±


    Bayer was quick to cut in. ¡°Sir Zhong! How could we give up?! It¡¯s their job to keep us safe!¡±


    Everyone ignored him. The chief of security had received his order and immediately turned to convey the message. Zhong Yan fixed his clothes and turned towards his accompanying staff who were all pale from fear. ¡°Bring me the stock list for the ship. You, destroy all the data related to the Supreme Council in the systems. Go.¡±


    This time, they were pretending to be mere caravan travelers. The signal in such a remote part of the universe was not very good, and the Navi System had already blocked out the outside world for a very long time. Since this troop of space pirates were outside of the Navi System, then they must not have landed anywhere for the past year and a half or so. They might not be able to recognize them, so they could try to go with the flow.


    He pointed to a few more of his men and ordered them off. Everyone had been huddling together in fear, and compared to Bayer who could only bark at the security team for them to face the enemy, Zhong Yan¡¯s calm demeanor almost gave them a temporary glimmer of peace. Everyone responded in acknowledgment of his orders and went to do their work.


    Bayer tried several times to put in a suggestion, but he never would have expected that Zhong Yan who would usually treat him with respect would actually turn a deaf ear to him today. He was so furious that his face was turning red. He howled, ¡°How could you allow them to send a distress signal to the Navi System?! We should be asking the Capital for help! If word gets out, we might as well just be dead!¡±


    Zhong Yan turned coldly to him. ¡°It would be too late to wait for help to come from the capital. The closest large-scale military force available to us is the Navi Military Command. You may fight honorably with the space pirates, but do not drag those who wish to live down with you.¡±


    This was the first time Zhong Yan had ever shot back at him in such a way to his face, and it was both shocking and anger-inducing for Bayer. Different shades of red passed through his face; in his eyes, this youngster was nothing more than a mere puppet, and he was only there in Stalvern¡¯s place after his retirement. To think that this puppet would actually dare to crawl over him like this!


    Since they had completely abandoned any idea of resistance, there was practically no conflict on both sides, and a small team soon boarded the ship.


    The one in the lead was a dirty and rugged man wearing a bandana. As soon as he entered through the security doors, he immediately pointed his gun towards a few of the security guards. ¡°Take out all your weapons and throw them aside!¡±


    The security team looked at Zhong Yan, and they received his calm response. ¡°Toss them away.¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you their leader? You¡¯ve got tact, not bad.¡± The one leading the group turned his eyes to Zhong Yan and felt a sense of doubt rise up. ¡°Hey, you look familiar now that I look at you¡­¡±


    One of his underlings standing behind him observed Zhong Yan. ¡°He looks pretty, must be some celebrity!¡±


    Zhong Yan responded, ¡°I know that you are only seeking wealth, you can take this batch of goods we have on board, but please let us leave safely.¡±


    Their leader retorted, ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to see if your goods are worthy enough to pay for that. Search it!¡±


    In just a short while, the dozen or so boxes full of goods they brought as props were taken over. Even the staff throughout the entire ship was pushed over and gathered. The leader looked on in dissatisfaction. ¡°Just this? What sort of company is this? Why are you so poor?¡±


    Zhong Yan remained unperturbed. ¡°Most of it was sold off in Labor Star. This is all we have left.¡±


    The leader¡¯s gaze shifted through the group of staff, and suddenly sneered. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine, you have two ladies here who look pretty good. Hand over these two ladies and the goods, and you can go.¡±


    The two female staff were so scared that they were trembling, blood draining from their faces. Zhong Yan frowned. ¡°Not possible.¡±


    At the same time, Bayer had quickly cut in. ¡°Yes!¡±


    The space pirate looked between the two of them, and asked, ¡°So is this a yes or a no? Which one of you is in charge?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± Zhong Yan presented himself. ¡°You can take the ship and the goods, but it¡¯s not possible for me to hand you any of my men.¡±


    ¡°You can save everyone by sacrificing two women!¡± Bayer was furious. ¡°Are you trying to get us all killed?!¡±


    Zhong Yan mocked him, ¡°So you suddenly feel like living now?¡±


    The leader looked at them with impatience and raised the gun in his hand. ¡°So you¡¯re not agreeing, huh?!¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly weighed the pros and cons of revealing his identity at this moment, but in the end still decided to ensure the safety of his people and to discuss with them after he managed to get everyone out.


    ¡°I¡¯ll replace them,¡± he said.


    The pirate leader had been prepared to tell him that they wanted women; what was a man like him trying to cut in for! But as he observed Zhong Yan¡¯s face, he started to swallow down his words. His underlings at the back whispered to him, ¡°Boss, this guy looks much better than those women! It¡¯s not a bad deal!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± The leader waved them away. ¡°The rest of you can get in the escape shuttle.¡±


    Zhong Yan watched as all the staff and security guards entered the shuttle. Silently, he was pulled away by the pirates into their shuttle.


    This style of ship was considerably old at this point in time, and it could be seen that it had gone through several transformations to achieve this current solid and mean appearance.


    The leader seemed to have ordered one of his men to do something, and he pushed Zhong Yan into a simple cell before locking it, leaving a single person behind to watch over him.


    Not long after he left, the pirate who was left behind asked, ¡°Hey pretty boy, are you an actor? I keep getting the feeling I¡¯ve seen you in a movie or something.¡±


    Zhong Yan responded calmly to him, ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, it was the political news.¡±


    Unfortunately, the space pirate had no reaction at all to what he had just said. After being away from land so long and floating away in space, the only thing in their lives now was sex, money, and violence. It was quite rare for them to receive any signals from the universe, and they did not care much about the news from the Federation either. Every so often, they would drift to a place with signal, but they would only rush to keep up with entertainment, porn videos, and whatnot; they would not pay attention to anything else.


    ¡°Haha, it doesn¡¯t matter what role you played. If you have some fun with me, I¡¯ll put in a good word for you later. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve nothing to say.¡±


    The pirate tried to tease him, but then he saw the aggravating look on the man¡¯s face. It made him feel as if he himself was a show monkey jumping up and down, and it made him angry. He barked, ¡°You bastard, what¡¯re you acting all high and mighty about! For you to be able to handle a merchant troop at such a young age, it really makes me wonder how many old men you¡¯ve slept with for your position!¡±


    Zhong Yan had a face that looked much younger than his actual age, but since he was popular enough to be a common household name, everyone knew who he was, and he would rarely be mistaken for a young man in his early twenties; he never expected to be misunderstood here.


    While the space pirate continued to hurl abuse at him, he started to unlock the gates to the cell. Zhong Yan took a step back and said, ¡°I would advise you against that. Have you ever given any thought as to how a person of my age can lead such a caravan? I come from the capital, and the Navi Military Command has already been informed of my hostage status. They are on the way here as we speak. The only bargaining chip you have now is to use me as a hostage.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± His words had wiped the space pirate¡¯s previous thoughts clean off. ¡°The Navi Military Command? You¡¯re just messing with me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. If you go and report this to your superior now, you may be able to get some credit out of it.¡±


    The space pirate relocked the door with haste and ran off in a panic. Zhong Yan let out a sigh of relief, and a soft, bitter chuckle left his lips as he allowed his back to slide down the wall.


    What he said was fake. It had been an hour since they sent the emergency call signal, and he had no idea whatsoever on whether the Navi Military Command would actually pay any heed to their distress signal. Even if they did send someone over out of a few considerations¡­he was still not useful enough to be used as a bargaining chip for the Navi Military Command.


    ¡°Did you say that¡­Navi¡¯s military forces are on the way?¡±


    The wide but messy hall was filled with people, and it was unclear whether the entire crew was gathered here or not. The man sitting at the uppermost seat was a middle-aged man with dark hair. A horizontal scar ran across his face which made him look very fierce. At this moment, he was interrogating Zhong Yan who was standing in the middle of the hall below.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zhong Yan responded. Even though he knew it was not likely, he still gave it his all to persuade them. ¡°If you let me go now¡­¡±


    Before he could even finish, the pirate crew¡¯s leader cut him off. ¡°If you put it that way, it¡¯s not completely impossible.¡±


    Zhong Yan waited quietly for him to lay down his conditions, but he did not expect the other party to say, ¡°Let me say¡­You¡¯re a very lucky one, we happen to have a signal right now, so let¡¯s play a game. Initiate a conversation with any person in your contact list right now, and tell them that you were kidnapped by space pirates. Ask them if they¡¯re willing to save you.¡±


    The space pirates around him began to sneer; clearly, this was not their first rodeo.


    The head honcho gave him a nasty smile. ¡°If your friend agrees to it, we will provide you with a small escape shuttle. But if they¡¯re unwilling¡­we¡¯ll put your personal terminal in the escape shuttle, and when the Navi Military boys arrive, we¡¯ll just say we¡¯ve already released you. As for your person¡­well, you¡¯ll just have to stay¡ªwithout the terminal, they won¡¯t be able to find you either, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    The roaring sound of cheers erupted through the hall. It had been a long time since they had any entertainment on this ship, so this was exciting for them. Zhong Yan knew that he had to do it.


    He turned on his terminal, and sure enough, there was a weak signal.


    Within the excited crowd, another person had also turned on his terminal and pulled a single person out of his blacklist.


    Zhong Yan did not know what he was thinking, but he knew this was definitely not the best choice he could have made¡ªor you could say, this was a choice that was sure to fail¡ªbut he stubbornly insisted on contacting that person.


    To his surprise, the call was picked up in less than a second.


    ¡°Um¡­A¡­it¡ªit¡¯s me. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve received the distress signal, it was sent out about two hours prior,¡± Zhong Yan spoke.


    The head of the pirates pointed his gun at him as a warning for him not to say anything unnecessary, and to stick with his lines. The hall had turned so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and all the space pirates were watching this rare scene with cruel excitement.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been kidnapped by them.¡± Hearing no response from the other side, Zhong Yan¡¯s heart sunk; but he still remained firm and asked the question, ¡°Are you willing to come and save me?¡±


    After a few seconds of silence, the deep voice of a man reverberated across the hall from the speakers of Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal. ¡°No. Is something wrong with your head? Why are you calling me at this hour?¡±


    The crowd was roaring in a big riot, and everyone had their weapons raised. Very soon, an area was vacated, and a tall man that had huddled between them since who knows when stood right in the middle.

 Chapter 17 - Strip

    ¡°Who are you? How¡¯d you get in?¡± The boss¡¯ right-hand man sitting beside him shouted.


    Adrian pulled back the hood he was wearing for camouflage. The man¡¯s question did not bother him at all, neither did all the guns that were pointing towards him; he stared only at Zhong Yan and said, ¡°Come here.¡±


    Without even a moment of hesitation, Zhong Yan obeyed his order and ran towards Adrian. Someone shouted for him to stop and turned his gun to him, but he did not stop. He knew that Adrian would take care of him. The only thing he heard was two bangs when two of the guns pointed readily towards Zhong Yan flew out from the pirates¡¯ hands.


    The deterring power of his technique was clear to see. Even if the two pirates were unharmed, it was a perfect show of the man¡¯s precision and skill. For a moment, nobody dared to make any moves, but Zhong Yan had already reached Adrian in a few quick seconds.


    ¡°You¡¯re really f*cking good at starting trouble,¡± Adrian shot fiercely at him, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you later.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s arm was caught by Adrian¡¯s rough grasp, and he was pulled over to him with a tug. It was obvious that Adrian did not loosen his grip. He could feel the pain of his fingers digging into his arm, but he did not ask him to let go. In a soft voice, he contended, ¡°How is this my fault? I was even starting to wonder whether it was you who sent the pirates.¡±


    Adrian was so pissed that he could practically drop dead. ¡°Would I need to hire a bunch of pirates to stop you? With your pitiful ship and your useless security team¡­¡±


    ¡°That ship isn¡¯t pitiful. It¡¯s the latest design and it cost a lot. Have you received my men?¡±


    ¡°Like hell I would!¡±


    ¡°Hey, listen.¡± The head of the space pirates sitting at the top spoke with a face red with anger when he saw the two of them arguing. ¡°How long are you planning to flirt around for?¡±


    One of the lackeys from outside the hall quickly stumbled into the room. He kneeled down with his head plastered to the floor and shouted, ¡°Boss! What he said was true! We¡ªwe¡¯re surrounded by the Navi Military Command¡¯s warships! Their men are boarding the ship, and our security doors have already been broken¡ªah!¡±


    The man who came after him gave the back of the lackey a hefty kick. It was a young Navi military officer. He looked towards Adrian and said, ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve taken over the security doors, should we search¡­oh, you¡¯ve already found the special commissioner?¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°Did you lot get lost on the way or something? You¡¯re so slow.¡±


    ¡°The single-seater you left in was the fastest, and the speed is almost twice that of a large warship. We¡¯ve already rushed over in the fastest speed we can.¡± The officer was helpless.


    ¡°Go.¡± With his gun in one hand and Zhong Yan the other, Adrian was just about to leave when he heard the head of the pirates shout, ¡°Hold it right there!¡±


    Adrian was getting impatient. ¡°Speak quickly, I¡¯m in a hurry.¡±


    The leader stood up and walked slowly down the steps towards the center of the hall. He was a tall man whose body exuded an aura of bloodthirst that put tingles on ones¡¯ scalp when they faced him. Adrian took a half step forward and covered Zhong Yan behind him.


    ¡°What will I do with my reputation if I let you waltz off just like that? What¡¯s this pretty boy to you?¡±


    ¡°None of your business,¡± Adrian spat out.


    The space pirate laughed. ¡°I can tell even if you don¡¯t say it. I was just thinking the two of you were pretty familiar a while ago, but sure enough, looking at you now, you¡¯ve got those hateful silver eyes. You¡¯re Adrian Yate.¡±


    He came closer and closer. Previously, his face that could not be clearly seen from their distance was fully revealed under the lights. Actually, he had the face of a man full of charm, but it was only destroyed by the long scar on it as well as his fierce temper. As Zhong Yan looked at him, a look of disbelief started to emerge on his face.


    Adrian responded, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me, your daddy. My boys have you surrounded, so do you really think you can stop me?¡ªWhat¡¯re you doing?¡±


    He was only able to finish half of what he wanted to say before Zhong Yan began tugging at his clothes from behind. Impatiently, he turned around towards the person at his side. ¡°Save it for later, can¡¯t you see the situation right now?¡±


    ¡°You can use your heavy weapons to turn us all into dust later,¡± the head of the space pirates started to laugh like a maniac, ¡°but if you¡¯re gonna just swagger out of here like this, you¡¯re gonna have to wait till I strip your skin!¡±


    Space pirates were loyal to their code and had no fear of death. Adrian had personally dealt with more than a few space pirate crews, so he was very clear on how these gangs operated. Hearing what he said, he also started to laugh. ¡°Great, then let¡¯s go by your rules¡ªI¡¯ll fight you one-on-one, and if I win, I¡¯ll be taking him¡­What¡¯re you doing?!¡±


    Zhong Yan was desperately tugging at his clothes from behind, and in a fit of anger, Adrian pulled his clothes free from his hands. Zhong Yan had an awkward expression on his face, but he didn¡¯t feel like talking about it in public, so he whispered to him, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t fight with him first, I need to tell you something¡­¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, you can tell me when the fight¡¯s over!¡±


    ¡°No! I have to tell you right now!¡± Zhong Yan looked a little anxious, and clearly only both the opposing head and him realized this; but since the other party had no intention of saying it, he would have to speak up.


    Adrian wasn¡¯t listening to him at all, but Zhong Yan could not be bothered about that right now. He got up on the balls of his feet and tried to climb his way up Adrian¡¯s arm to reach his ear. Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was very light, but to Adrian, it felt like a crack of thunder.


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°I think that person is¡­your father.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Half an hour later, Warship Infirmary.


    The space pirates¡¯ ship had already been completely taken over by Navi¡¯s troops. Since their leader had been defeated by the general commander of the Navi Military Command, the group of pirates were not too upset about it, and there was no serious conflict. Adrian had come out in a hurry this time around and didn¡¯t bring any medical staff with him. At this moment, everyone was busy, so Zhong Yan could only harden his wits and head over himself.


    ¡°Mr. Parrett, please raise your hand.¡±


    Parrett raised a brow at him. ¡°You know my name? Did that brat tell you? I heard you¡¯re married.¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Zhong Yan fixed up his arm with a splint and continued. ¡°It seems you¡¯re not completely out of the loop with the news. You must have known he was in Navi this whole time, right? Why didn¡¯t you¡­¡±


    ¡°Why what? Why didn¡¯t I look for him? Why didn¡¯t I reconcile with him?¡±


    Zhong Yan remained silent. It was very clear that that was exactly what he meant.


    Parrett sneered. ¡°And what would I do that for? So that I can fight the AI with him? And what?¡±


    Zhong Yan responded coldly. ¡°He¡¯s your biological son.¡±


    Before telling him about Vahl¡¯s story, Adrian had once told Zhong Yan about his so-called father who had abandoned his pregnant mother and ran off to Navi. Unlike Stalvern, Adrian certainly believed that this man who abandoned his pregnant wife was a scumbag, but his feelings towards him could still not be considered hate.


    ¡°My mother didn¡¯t expect me to be born, and she¡¯s never taken care of me. He¡¯s not much different from her. Anyway, they¡¯re the same as me; we¡¯re only victims. If there is a possibility, I still hope that I can see him once, just to see what kind of person he is.¡±


    He did not say it himself, but Zhong Yan could tell from his words that the young Adrian had many fantasies and expectations towards his father, but this man in front of him had never thought about acknowledging his own son.


    Zhong Yan did not wish to stay here any longer, so he said, ¡°It¡¯s done. I¡¯m not a professional, so you should look for a doctor when you reach Navi.¡±


    A cold glint of hate could be seen in Parrett¡¯s eyes as he snorted, ¡°Son? Hah, are you still expecting me to act the role of a father to him now? He¡¯s not my son! Adrian Yate is the shame of my life!¡±


    Adrian¡¯s hand stopped on the handle of the door to the infirmary. He had just finished tying up the loose ends at work, and this was the first thing he heard as he reached the infirmary¡¯s door.


    At the age of twenty-seven, he finally met his father, and loudly, his father announced him as his shame.


    Suddenly, the sound of a crash could be heard from within; it seemed like the medical equipment inside had fallen over. Adrian was shocked and wanted to open the door, but all he heard was Zhong Yan¡¯s voice as it erupted in anger. ¡°Clearly, you were both victims of a tragedy, but the only thing you can do about it is run away. He rose up and fought against it! If he succeeds, he will be the greatest hero of mankind in his lifetime, but if he fails, the annals would still remember him. In hundreds or thousands of years, people will praise him. Even if he failed, he failed with glory! And you? What do you think your actions are worth?!¡±


    Parrett pounced at him viciously and caught Zhong Yan¡¯s neck with his good hand. At the same time, the door of the infirmary slammed open with a bang. With one punch, Adrian hit him square in the temple, causing his sight to go dark as he was forced to let go.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got yourself a wife with a pretty glib tongue.¡± Parrett sneered at them from the ground.


    ¡°Guard! Get in here and keep an eye on him!¡± While shouting, Adrian dragged Zhong Yan out.


    Zhong Yan had been dragged all the way to his temporary office. Adrian slammed the door shut behind him, and with his hand around Zhong Yan¡¯s waist, lifted him up and set him down on the tall office table.


    Zhong Yan sat on the desk in disbelief and asked, ¡°What¡­what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re amazing, aren¡¯t you? I left for just a moment and you¡¯ve already gotten yourself in danger!¡±


    As Zhong Yan¡¯s skin was fair, the marks that were left was especially conspicuous. With just that bit of a scuffle, his neck had already reddened up to a shocking sight.


    Adrian took his chin and lifted it up before checking his neck with rage filling his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯ll go away after a while.¡± Zhong Yan felt uneasy and wanted to move his hand away, but he could not succeed. ¡°You nearly beat him into a cripple, I thought¡­¡±


    ¡°Thought what? Did you think that space pirates are the same as your council people and the like? You think you could reason with them?¡± Adrian continued in a fit of anger, ¡°Do you think you can just get on a space pirate¡¯s ship as you pleased? Are you trying to play the hero? Aren¡¯t you usually very well-spoken? Couldn¡¯t you have delayed them till I arrived?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was soft. ¡°I never thought you would come.¡±


    The two were silent for a while, and neither of them mentioned Adrian¡¯s father again. Zhong Yan cleared his throat and began, ¡°So, you¡¯ve already met with my subordinates, right? Did they tell you? We¡­¡±


    ¡°They told me a lot of things.¡± Adrian cut him off. ¡°For example, they told me you had a portable camcorder hidden inside your clothes.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes widened, but he did not refute him. ¡°These are my casual clothes! They¡¯re not the clothes I prepared to wear when I would meet with you¡­¡±


    ¡°Who knows about that? Your men said they¡¯re in every one of your clothes.¡±


    ¡°How could my men say such things!¡±


    ¡°Cut the nonsense. I can¡¯t risk taking you into Navi with the threat of you secretly taking footage inside. So, before we land, are you going to strip or do you want me to do it for you?¡±

 Chapter 18 - Sore Spot

    Zhong Yan observed his expression for a moment as doubt began to form in his voice. ¡°Are you joking?¡±


    Adrian looked at him, face devoid of expression. ¡°Do I look like I am?¡±


    The desk was very tall, so sitting on top of it, Zhong Yan had a rare chance to face Adrian on an equal level. A look of disbelief sprang upon his face as he enunciated his words all too clearly. ¡°I will not take my clothes off in your office.¡±


    ¡°This office is the only place on this ship without any monitoring. I¡¯m already showing you consideration.¡± Adrian was losing his patience. ¡°So you won¡¯t strip, huh?¡±


    He grabbed Zhong Yan¡¯s collar and began to unbutton his shirt. Zhong Yan subconsciously attempted to retreat, but as he was sitting on top of the large desk, his back fell directly onto its surface. Without any signs of rest, Adrian took a step forward in response and took hold of Zhong Yan¡¯s hands that were desperately resisting him. With his other hand, he grabbed his shirt that appeared very expensive upon observation and tore it open roughly. Under his violent movements, one of the buttons gave in and landed with a crisp clink on the floor.


    ¡°Wait! Wait a second!¡± Zhong Yan tried to push him, but his efforts were in vain. Soon he had the realization that struggling against Adrian was a foolish decision. With his face red from struggling, he shouted, ¡°I¡­I¡¯ll take it off myself!¡±


    Adrian bent over and pressed him down before confirming, ¡°Really? Are you willing to strip now?¡±


    Zhong Yan glared at him. ¡°Yes! So get off!¡±


    Adrian retreated. Zhong Yan sat himself up once more and tidied up his messy clothes and hair. His breath was still slightly haggard from the tussle they had just engaged in a moment ago, but Adrian¡¯s breath, in contrast, was not affected in the slightest, and he was standing at the side with his arms crossed as if nothing happened.


    Zhong Yan stared at him and observed him again, but felt as if he didn¡¯t know him anymore. He muttered, ¡°How did you turn out this way now?¡±


    ¡°Turn out like what?¡±


    ¡°You¡­you weren¡¯t like this before. You used to be¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s words were slightly incoherent, but Adrian certainly understood how he ¡®used¡¯ to be.


    He used to want for nothing than to hold Zhong Yan in the palm of his hand. Don¡¯t even mention how much he coddled him, he would even ask to see if he was okay if he so much as heard a cough; when had he ever been this rough and unforgiving with him in his life?


    Adrian spoke. ¡°Because we¡¯re not in the past anymore.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s expression changed. He opened his mouth, but he could not say a single word.


    Adrian observed his face and felt as if someone had just poured oil over the bubbling magma beneath his heart.


    He raised his voice. ¡°What¡¯re you sulking for?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Zhong Yan turned his head away quickly, unwilling to look at him any longer.


    Adrian warned him, ¡°You better not cry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to!¡±


    The one thing Zhong Yan hated the most in his life was for others to see his vulnerable side. The more he denied it, the more Adrian wanted to bring it up.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen you crying like that during the school¡¯s anniversary celebration. Speaking of which, you¡¯ve also changed in the seven years we haven¡¯t seen each other. What, is crying the new pity play you learned after becoming a representative member? How come I¡¯ve never seen you practice this in public?¡±


    Before he could even finish talking, Zhong Yan had picked up the cup on the table and hurled it at him. His aim was not very accurate, so Adrian was able to easily avoid it by moving his head a little without even having to move his feet. Then, a loud crash could be heard as the cup smashed into the wall right beside his ears.


    The calm and self-sustaining Zhong Yan was finally angry. Adrian felt a rush of pleasure from it and refused to let go of this weakness of his. He continued on, ¡°Has your guts shrunk to so small now? You always look like you¡¯re going to cry when I¡¯ve been seeing you recently. Did you secretly cry when you got kidnapped by the space bandits too?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face was covered with a layer of frost as he spat out coldly, ¡°That simply makes no sense, what¡¯s there to cry about getting kidnapped by space bandits?¡±


    Makes sense. When Adrian slipped into the bandit ship¡¯s hall earlier, he saw how the other man¡¯s face was filled with not a single shred of panic even when he was surrounded by hundreds of vicious bandits, much less any tears.


    Then why did he cry in the stairwell last time? Could he be scarier than a hundred or so wicked space bandits?


    As Adrian wondered about it in his gloom, he spoke, ¡°This cup costs three hundred and sixty thousand. Pay me back in half a month.¡±


    ¡°My button costs four hundred thousand. You don¡¯t have to pay the extra forty thousand.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s breaths came back to normal, and he touched his shirt which button had been torn off, and turned back to ask with reluctance, ¡°What will I wear if I take this off?¡±


    Adrian knew that they would be landing sooner than they realized if they continued their bickering, so without a single word, he took off his sports jacket and threw it to Zhong Yan.


    He wasn¡¯t in his military uniform today, and nobody knew whether this was due to him being in a rush, or that he just didn¡¯t care to change, but perhaps he had only worn his casual clothes so he would not stand out as much when he tried to blend in with the bandits.


    Zhong Yan grabbed the jacket and without even having to check it with on his own body, he said, ¡°Your clothes are too big.¡±


    This was not Zhong Yan¡¯s first time wearing Adrian¡¯s clothes. During their winter days in the Institution Star, Adrian would often take off his jacket for him when they walked together as Zhong Yan was sensitive to the cold. Adrian liked to buy loose clothes, and he was also tall. Not only was Zhong Yan half a head shorter than him, he was also very slim, so the jacket would end up as a long coat on his body.


    But right now, he was not prepared to help him with the sizing issue.


    ¡°You can stay naked if you prefer.¡±


    Right now, Zhong Yan knew that he really meant what he said; he was not joking. He quickly moved his hands to the jacket to protect it in his arms as if he was afraid that Adrian would go back on his word.


    Zhong Yan spoke, ¡°Then, you go outside, I¡¯m going to change.¡±


    Adrian raised a brow at him. ¡°It¡¯s only temporary, but this is still my office.¡±


    ¡°I know, what of it?¡±


    ¡°I am the highest commander of the largest armed organization of the anti-AI, and you are the direct subordinate of AI. You think I¡¯m going to leave you alone in my own office? Dream on.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the terminal in your office protected by a password?¡±


    ¡°And what if you manage to guess it? I¡¯m not prepared to take that risk.¡±


    ¡°Guess it¡­¡± Zhong Yan repeated the line and felt so angry that he had to stop and take a breath. This man was too unreasonable. ¡°Me? Guess your password? How am I going to do that? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s my birthday or something, is it?¡±


    Adrian paused in his breath. This sentence stabbed right at his sore spot. He really was using Zhong Yan¡¯s birthday as the password for his personal terminal. He was the only one who knew this, not even Fayn did. He thought that it would be too petty of him if he were to change the password, it felt like something only a little girl would do.


    Zhong Yan had unsuspectingly made a strike at him without knowing it, but he kept his expression solemn, firmly refusing to show him any clues.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been an official for so long, how do you still have no tact? I just don¡¯t want you in here alone, it¡¯s like leaving a thief next to a locked case, I just don¡¯t like it.¡±


    The faint blush on Zhong Yan¡¯s face that came from his earlier struggles had now faded completely. The anger and humiliation that had been kept silent within him since his childhood was now roaring out and was almost spilling out from his eyes. He closed his eyes, and after catching a few breaths, he said, ¡°Then turn around.¡±


    ¡°Zhong Yan, do you really think I¡¯m here to play with you?¡± Adrian sneered. ¡°You have a highly concealed recording device on you, and I can¡¯t be bothered to bring in the high-precision detection equipment. The easiest way is for you to change, and now you¡¯re trying to stop me from seeing the changing process? Then what¡¯s the point in getting you to change?¡±


    When Zhong Yan brought up this suggestion at the round table, he had only thought that this would help to increase the success rate of the plan; he never thought he would be pushing himself into this situation, but even worse was¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing on these clothes! My formalwear is¡­¡± Zhong Yan hated that he didn¡¯t tell it to him clearly from the start, he told him they were clothes, but never said which ones. He wanted Adrian to watch out for the probing devices on his ship, but who would¡¯ve thought that he would be robbed by space bandits before he could even arrive at Navi? And now it had been taken over by the Navi Military Command.


    After his ship was dealt with, Adrian shifted his attention and started to treat all his clothes as if they were enemies.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the cufflink of my suit. It¡¯s a miniature camera that can¡¯t be detected by ordinary security detection devices, but you can find them if you use high-precision equipment! You can search my room, it¡¯s right in my closet¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never get the chance to wear that suit in your life, so why would I have to bother? It¡¯s enough for me that I watch you take this pair of clothes off.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face had turned into an unbelievable shade of white. Adrian had actually figured that these clothes he wore were likely fine, he was just doing it for insurance. But now it almost felt like a lottery; was there really some hidden device within his clothes? Why was Zhong Yan so desperate to keep it on?


    ¡°You can tell anyone else to watch me change. Anyone! As long as it isn¡¯t you! Anyone would¡­¡±


    Before Zhong Yan could finish, the internal communication device on the table rang.


    Adrian picked it up and answered. ¡°Speak.¡±


    The person on the other end of the communicator spoke, ¡°Commander, we¡¯ve entered the White Aegis¡¯ atmosphere. The cockpit sent me to ask if we¡¯re ready to land.¡±


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    ¡°Roger.¡±


    Adrian threw the communicator back on the table. It slammed down, bounced back up, and fell on the ground, but nobody paid it any attention.


    ¡°You heard it, now¡¯s your last chance to do it yourself.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him, and a look of despair welled up in his eyes. Adrian was getting more and more confused¡ªWasn¡¯t it just a hidden device? Is there a need for this?


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take it off. I¡¯m nothing in your heart now anyway, this won¡¯t matter.¡±


    What? What won¡¯t matter?


    Adrian was starting to feel as if things were much different from what he had expected, and it made him feel rather uneasy at the bottom of his heart. Zhong Yan did not delay and immediately went on to remove his buttons. When he pulled his shirt away, Adrian moved forth and grabbed his hand that was trying to cover himself up.


    For a moment, he could not believe what he was seeing at all. He even reached out uncontrollably to touch it, and the bumpy texture on his feelings proved to him that what he saw in front of him was all real.


    ¡°What is this?! What¡ªis this?!¡±


    Right beneath Zhong Yan¡¯s chest were dense scars on his ribs. The scars were gnarled and twisted, and they were very old, from the looks of it, but you could still clearly see the words they formed.


    ¡°Thief¡±.

 Chapter 19 - Marked

    Zhong Yan pushed Adrian¡¯s hand away and quickly took off his shirt before putting on Adrian¡¯s jacket. He wanted to pull up the zipper, but the more anxious he became, the harder it was for him to get it right. Adrian could not stand the sight any longer and pulled it up for him in one rough motion.


    When he was done, Zhong Yan pushed him away once more. He wanted to get off the table, but Adrian was standing in front of him like a wall.


    Zhong Yan reached out to push him, but he could barely move him a single inch, so he could only say, ¡°I changed my clothes. Move over, I want to get down.¡±


    Adrian asked, ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s none of your business. Move!¡±


    Not only did Adrian not move away, he even stopped Zhong Yan¡¯s hands that were struggling with him repeatedly. He warned, ¡°I¡¯m in a bad mood right now, so you¡¯re done for if you kick me. Try it if you dare.¡±


    Adrian was standing right in front of the desk, and his legs were intertwined with Zhong Yan¡¯s. Zhong Yan could have easily raised his legs and kneed him right at a man¡¯s most vulnerable position, getting himself out of this predicament; but his threat was effective.


    Zhong Yan thought about the other¡¯s unpredictable temper and decided to endure the urge, instead opting to move him with reason. ¡°Why do you always try to solve your problems with violence? You can¡¯t convince anyone with violence, you¡­just let me go first¡­¡±


    ¡°This is not the capital, violence can convince the people. Welcome to Navi, Representative Member,¡± said Adrian. Seeing that he was not struggling for the time being, he released his hand but did not move away. He remained standing in front of him. ¡°So, what was the case with that?¡±


    Zhong Yan met his eyes and was silent for a long time. Then, he said, ¡°What¡¯s it to you? We¡¯re not friends anymore.¡±


    ¡°In Navi, I ask. You answer. No arguing. Speak.¡±


    Zhong Yan lowered his gaze. He saw it, Adrian would not let him go if he did not get a clear answer today. After being apart from each other for seven years, he was not like the man in that ivory tower like he used to be in school. He was now a rigid overlord who was not afraid to do whatever he said.


    ¡°When I was still going through my compulsory education, I got into a conflict with a senior. He and a few friends of his carved it with a utility knife. That was it.¡±


    ¡°What conflict?¡±


    ¡°The daughter of a wealthy businessman was from the same batch as I was. She was very pretty and my senior was interested in her.¡± Zhong Yan spoke very calmly as if he was speaking about someone else. ¡°I¡¯ve always been the first in class, and my appearance was not too bad, so the girl took an interest in me. I didn¡¯t accept her, so she cried, then the senior got some of his friends to stick up for her. They did it in the locker room of the public bath since there was no surveillance there.¡±


    Adrian closed his eyes and forced himself to not imagine that scene. He pushed down that unbelievable sense of fury and asked, ¡°Huh. Why that word in particular?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s another story.¡± Zhong Yan chuffed, but no hint of amusement could be found in his eyes. ¡°Do you still remember when I told you about my first adoptive parents?¡±


    ¡°The one who sent you back after the woman got pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. For the sake of appearances, they made up a story. In the next ten years, it became the most popular story in the orphanage. So, when the senior went there to ask about me, many of the younger children rushed over to him to tell him that story.¡±


    Adrian could already guess. ¡°They said you stole something¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. When I grew up and started to understand the world more, it¡¯s actually not something I couldn¡¯t understand. But the truth of the matter is not important. That orphanage¡­¡± Zhong Yan let out a light scoff. ¡°The star system I was born in wasn¡¯t that developed to begin with, and the orphanage was built on a fourth tier planet. The standards were quite poor with the management and the system, so many things happened based on connections. The administrator and the other staff were all snobs, each one worse than the last. How much good could any of the children there grow up to be? None of the children who came out of there were good people, including me.¡±


    ¡°That senior had a very decent family background¡ªoh, but of course, it¡¯s hardly comparable to you. He came from one of the top families in the small planet that we came from. If he ever did anything to me, I could only endure it. If I were to kick up a fuss, I would not even be able to stay in school. Much too many of these incidents happened, but these were not serious cases yet. It was just that this particular incident left a scar.¡±


    Adrian clenched his fists and said, ¡°You¡¯ve never told me any of this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was worried then¡­¡± Zhong Yan never finished telling him what he was worried about, he just laughed self-deprecatingly. ¡°Now you know, my childhood is way different from what you imagined. It wasn¡¯t an inspirational story about an orphan from a backwater planet who struggled hard to change their own destiny. Do you regret being my friend even more now?¡±


    The fury burning within Adrian¡¯s silver eyes almost seemed as if it was going to ignite. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°What do you mean even more¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it last time? You wouldn¡¯t have been friends with me if you knew this was the kind of person I was. You¡¯re right. My past was worse than you thought.¡± Zhong Yan seemed to have made up his mind to make Adrian hate him even more, and went on in one burst, ¡°We learned to lie as children when we were very young. The orphanage would not starve the kids there, but we would eat the same things every time. There was a rotation of the same cheap ingredients, and the pattern never changes. Sometimes the food was good, but it was rare, done purely to make the purchase form look good. For the sake of being able to eat a little more of the good, lying was nothing. One time, when the local council¡¯s social welfare department came to visit, I forgot the words I was supposed to say¡ªI still remember it right now. ¡®Miaomiao Orphanage is our home. We all like it here¡¯. I was too young then, and I forgot the other half. For a month after that, I was only allowed bread and porridge. I never forgot my lines after that. As I got older, I¡¯ve even learned to improvise and stand out. If I did it well, I would get a small piece of cake. It was so precious, that I¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan frowned, suddenly realizing he had said something he wasn¡¯t supposed to. He was just about to cover it up, but what¡¯s done was done. Adrian grasped onto that point and asked, ¡°Is that why you liked cakes so¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Zhong Yan cut him off. ¡°That¡¯s not the reason. I didn¡¯t have any preferences towards cakes, but I didn¡¯t want to waste it since you bought them. This has nothing to do with it.¡±


    Adrian knew that Zhong Yan was especially fond of eating cake, and he had discovered this during the first year they had known each other. When they had just met, Zhong Yan had actually yet to fully reach the age of seventeen, so his birthday came soon after school started. Adrian bought his roommate a birthday cake, and he had prepared to share a small bit of it between them each day until they could finish; but while Adrian had only taken a small slice that night, the rest of it was scarfed down by Zhong Yan as his dinner.


    From then on, Adrian would often buy him cakes, but he didn¡¯t dare to buy the big ones. He was shocked by how Zhong Yan had finished an entire birthday cake by himself that night. Zhong Yan said he wasn¡¯t sick of it, but he still felt that eating cake like that wasn¡¯t too healthy. Later on, he would only buy him small cupcakes. As long as he bought them, they would be the first things to be eaten¡ªZhong Yan didn¡¯t have a big appetite, so he could take only half of his usual dinner after finishing two small cakes, which made it so that Adrian had to hold him back whenever he ate them, and he would never allow him to have them before his meal.


    Zhong Yan was also too embarrassed to tell Adrian that while the birthday cake was indeed very tasty, it still felt a little too much when he reached the end. But since he was young, he had always thought that he had to finish the birthday cake on the very same day. After seeing how hesitant Adrian was to speak, he felt like something was not right. It was only later when he secretly looked it up that he realized that there was no such custom. He was afraid that Adrian, a young master from the capital, would find him barbaric if word ever got out, especially how that was the first time he had ever eaten a birthday cake. He kept silent about it, and maintained his image of ¡°finishing the cake first no matter how big it was¡±.


    But no matter what misunderstandings there were between them, there was something that both of them were sure about: Zhong Yan did love eating cakes. Adrian had never been able to understand how a man could love such sweet pastries, but he still quietly embraced his roommate¡¯s hobbies, just like how he embraced his roommate¡¯s hobbies of wearing pajamas covered in pictures of giant space rabbits.


    Today, on this unexpected occasion, he finally got an answer; but this answer was much more bitter than the sweetness he had expected.


    Zhong Yan used to think that if Adrian were ever to find out his fragile needs for his self compensative behavior, that it would definitely be used against him based on how much he hated him right now. But unexpectedly, Adrian let the cake issue go, and acknowledged it with just a hum before continuing, ¡°So you reported the orphanage as soon as you entered the Supreme Institution?¡±


    ¡°More than that.¡± Zhong Yan responded, ¡°After I graduated from the Supreme Institution, I returned to that little planet the year I entered the Supreme Council. It was doing decently, but since it was not a developed planet, news did not reach them that fast, and most of the people I wanted to look for were still there. Let¡¯s just talk about the one you know about¡­that senior. He broke his ribs that day. I hired someone to beat him up. For the sake of currying favor with me, the local council members specially prepared me a corner without any surveillance. I was standing right at the side when they hit him. He was actually quite strong, and he really could have beaten the people I hired if he really went for it, but he didn¡¯t dare to resist them. I worked in the Supreme Council, the disparity between us was so big that I could easily tear his family apart. I think it was when half of his ribs were broken and he couldn¡¯t take the pain any longer that he cried. He shouted and told me he was sorry. He asked me to show mercy and spare him. I didn¡¯t tell them to stop.¡±


    Zhong Yan touched his left rib. Right under Adrian¡¯s jacket was the unsightly scar he received when he was just a boy. ¡°He didn¡¯t do it himself back then, but I didn¡¯t either. He didn¡¯t cut off my future, and neither did I cut off his, but I wanted him to pay for everything he¡¯s done with interest. This was the oath I made to myself in the past, and I did it. It was justified to me. I don¡¯t regret it.¡±


    He had never shown such a dark side of himself to Adrian in his life, but coming clean to him now made him feel despondent.


    Zhong Yan kept his eyes obstinately down on the communicator on the ground; he didn¡¯t dare to look at Adrian¡¯s expression. Adrian would probably be very disappointed and get even angrier after discovering how despicable a person he was.


    How did it turn out like this¡­He tried so hard to get himself to Navi. Clearly¡­Clearly he didn¡¯t come here to say this.

 Chapter 20 - Fierce

    The knock on the door broke the silence in the room.


    ¡°Commander? There seems to be an issue with the internal communicator, I can¡¯t get through. Are you in there?¡± The person outside asked.


    Adrian glanced over at the communicator that had died gloriously in battle on the ground. He raised his voice and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve entered the atmosphere, and we¡¯re expecting to land on White Aegis¡¯ landing pad in ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Zhong Yan gave Adrian¡¯s chest a light push. This time, the other man took a step back following the ministrations of his force.


    As he expected, Adrian had lost all interest in him¡ªwhether it be as a friend or enemy. As these self-deprecating thoughts floated in Zhong Yan¡¯s head, he jumped off the desk. He had been sitting for a long time, so his legs had already gone slightly numb; when he landed on the ground, he couldn¡¯t hold himself up firmly enough, so Adrian supported him.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhong Yan kept his eyes on the space between his and the man¡¯s feet. ¡°Right, I didn¡¯t get to ask earlier. Where are my men?¡±


    This man had not dared to look at him since their conversation ended. Adrian suppressed his anger and asked, ¡°That¡­I mean¡­why didn¡¯t you tell me those matters earlier?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked you about them since we were still on the bandit¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that!¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his head, and shot him a smile; a smile filled with bitterness.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t want friends like that. You like friends like Suster. Someone like you, passionate enough about changing the world that they¡¯d give their lives for the cause. If I told you early on, you would have abandoned me long ago, would you have waited till graduation? I was fortunate enough to have those three years. You should hate me. It wasn¡¯t as if I never thought of the possibility that¡­that something like what happened during our graduation would happen. I thought about it, but I still did it. You really should hate me.¡±


    Adrian gnashed his teeth as he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t like guys like Suster. You foolish idiot, you don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you like him enough? You told me how much you liked him the day you met, and you wouldn¡¯t stop talking about him that day. Before even a month had passed, you said he was basically your best buddy, ¡± Zhong Yan reminded him with displeasure. ¡°You¡¯ve never even called me your buddy, and everyone else called us the Twin Stars back then. But anytime anyone mentions the best friend of the military academy¡¯s Chief, everyone would instantaneously think of Fayn Suster.¡±


    Who wants to be your buddy?! I wanted to¡­


    ¡°We¡¯re not even talking about the same¡ª¡±


    A slight tremble shook through the hull of the ship, interrupting Adrian¡¯s words, and also dragged him back to reality from the glimpses of his student days.


    Adrian cleared his throat and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already settled your men down on the White Aegis earlier.¡±


    Zhong Yan had also realized that with their current status, there were things more important to them right now than their relationship.


    ¡°Thank you. Then, let¡¯s head out¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me so soon, I¡¯m not done yet¡ªYour boys are on the White Aegis but I never planned to let you see them.¡±


    To Adrian¡¯s surprise, Zhong Yan nodded without any hint of change in his expression; it was as if he had told him ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a banquet for you¡± instead. He calmly asked, ¡°So, what are your next arrangements there?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk after we get down,¡± Adrian responded.


    Adrian went off to settle the captive space bandits they brought back and assigned two quiet guards to send Zhong Yan to their temporary stop.


    To put it nicely, they were escorting the guest; but it was not much different from escorting a prisoner.


    After he received their silence to his casual question of ¡°where are we going¡±, he was able to fully understand the Navi Military Command¡¯s stance towards him¡ªor so to say, they were only following the example of their superior; this was Adrian¡¯s thoughts on the issue of his visit.


    But truth be told, this was much better than what he expected.


    Zhong Yan didn¡¯t feel bored when he was in the car. This was his first time coming to White Aegis. Even though the ownership issue of White Aegis Star had been loud and tumultuous the past two years, and having seen some videos of the place, this was still the very first time he had ever seen it in the flesh.


    White Aegis Star was a semi-developed planet. The position here was not very good as it was in the corner of the Labor System. The signal was poor all year round, and there were also barely any routes to get here¡ªit was hard to land even when the spacecraft had arrived since the construction of landing pads were only funded for the sake of geological investigations.


    There was an unbroken chain of mountains in the distance. Zhong Yan had never seen such a large plot of natural forestry in his life. The greenery of the Institution Star was also quite renown, but it was artificially created by humans; the elaborate creativity of mankind could barely compare to the magical wonders of mother nature.


    Only when the car stopped did Zhong Yan realize that his temporary resting spot was actually the local council house of White Aegis.


    Even the council house of the fourth-tier planet where Zhong Yan was born was much bigger than the one he saw before him. If not for the fact that Zhong Yan could see the sign hanging above the gates after they finally went closer, Zhong Yan would never imagine that this three-story residential-like building was actually the local council house.


    It was currently early morning in the local time, so the gates of the building were still shut. One of the guards tried to push it, but it was locked.


    ¡°Hey, are you here for the council?¡±


    An older man riding a rusted electrical bike passed by. He looked curiously at the strange trio¡ªthere were two Navi military soldiers in uniform, and a man wearing an oversized track jacket with formal slacks.


    ¡°It¡¯s not time for work yet, you came too early.¡±


    Zhong Yan asked, ¡°Sir, can you tell us when they open?¡±


    ¡°Gosh, I¡¯m no sir.¡± The older man quickly waved his hands. ¡°Someone will come to work by lunchtime, but there are a few councilors nearby if you¡¯re in a hurry¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we don¡¯t have any important business.¡±


    After bidding farewell to the passer-by, Zhong Yan turned to leave but was stopped by the two guards. Zhong Yan said, ¡°We can¡¯t get in right now, A¡­he probably wouldn¡¯t be coming here so soon. I¡¯ll go for a walk nearby.¡±


    The two guards looked at each other, and one of them said with hesitation, ¡°Sir Zhong, we need to request permission from our superiors, please wait¡­¡±


    Right in front of them, Zhong Yan dialed Adrian¡¯s number.


    The two guards widened their eyes, and looked shocked at the terminal of he-who-must-not-be-named-in-Navi; Adrian¡¯s voice flowed out of his receiver.


    ¡°You better not tell me you¡¯ve got yourself in trouble again.¡± Adrian said, ¡°And also, just cuz I haven¡¯t had time to block you since we got off that pirate ship doesn¡¯t mean you can harass me as you please.¡±


    Zhong Yan ignored the latter half of his words very naturally and said with dissatisfaction, ¡°What do you mean getting into trouble? The council only opens in the afternoon. How is it my fault you didn¡¯t check before sending me here?¡±


    The two guards sucked in a breath of cold air. Everyone in the federation knew that since the whole marriage proposal ordeal, Adrian¡¯s mood had been rock bottom. The entire military department was careful, but recently, there have been too many military affairs related to the Supreme Council, and there were constantly people who would accidentally say the wrong things, rubbing their commander the wrong way, and were scolded to all hell.


    But right now, he-who-must-not-be-named himself was actually speaking so rudely with their commander. He might¡­The guards were waiting at the side with gloom, but they never would have expected that though Adrian¡¯s tone was in fact quite unhappy, it did not seem any different to his temper from before.


    ¡°That it? Can¡¯t you just find a place to hang out for now? Didn¡¯t you come to assess the place to see if it¡¯s suitable? Your council people have already assessed the place in the past, so now you can review it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any detection devices on me,¡± Zhong Yan reminded him. ¡°I¡¯m even wearing your clothes.¡±


    What?! The two guards looked strangely at Zhong Yan¡¯s track jacket that was clearly not in line with his personal style. So this was the commander¡¯s jacket? No wonder the commander was only wearing a t-shirt.


    ¡°That¡¯s really reassuring. Well look as you please, nobody will care even if you slip and fall down a mountain. I¡¯m blocking you, don¡¯t contact me anymore.¡±


    As soon as he said that, he hung up.


    ¡°¡­So fierce,¡± muttered Zhong Yan as he watched his terminal screen go dark.


    Was that fierce???


    The two guards were thinking to themselves silently. They heard that once the commander gets angry, he would generally send them straight into the hospital if they so much as say one thing wrong. Even the civil officials would often be scolded by him to the point where their faces turned fully red or white as a sheet, whilst the more timid of them would just start to cry.


    Before they could even recover from their shock, the two received an order from their terminals at the same time.


    Watch him closely, don¡¯t let him go hiking on any mountains.¡±


    Zhong Yan had originally intended to find a shop to buy himself a set of clothes. The track jacket was truly too big for him; he had to roll up his sleeves just to see his hand. He was also much skinnier compared to Adrian, and much less shorter him, so the loose hem of the jacket went down directly over his hips. It felt loose and flabby and was uncomfortable to wear.


    There were not many people out on the streets this early in the morning. Zhong Yan walked through the streets slowly and aimlessly. There were only a handful of shops open, but none of them were selling clothes.


    The two guards did not know why, but they felt much more nervous than they did before, and followed him as closely as they could, which puzzled Zhong Yan. Don¡¯t even mention offensive power, Zhong Yan was not even able to receive proper nutrition when he was a kid, and now all he does is sit in an office all day after getting out of school. Right now, his physical qualities were so bad that it pissed people off, otherwise, he might not have gotten a cold in school after just being in the wind for a few hours. Right now, he was already nearing his limits even though he had only been walking for a short while. Fortunately, he just happened to chance upon a small round square right in front of him, so he decided to sit on one of the benches for a break.


    Only after sitting down did he notice a small stall right besides the bench. An old lady with white hair was manning it.


    It would be a good idea to inquire about where he could buy clothes.


    As he thought of that, Zhong Yan went over, leaned down, and asked, ¡°Hello granny, I¡¯d like to¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, a silver glint on the stall caught his attention.


    Turns out that this was a stall selling handmade crystal jewelry. Zhong Yan did not have much insight on jewelry, but he could tell that these were not precious crystals, but rather cheap and processed artificial crystals. They came in a variety of colors, and amongst them was a clear piece of silver crystal


    He couldn¡¯t help but trail off mid-sentence. ¡°¡­I¡¯d like to ask, how much does this cost?¡±


    ¡°This is a cufflink.¡± The old lady spoke in a genial tone. ¡°It comes in a pair. Hold on, I haven¡¯t taken the other one out.¡±


    As she said that, she rummaged through the large pocket at her side. Zhong Yan asked, ¡°Can I pick it up and look at it?¡±


    ¡°I found it, here you go. Silver is rare, it looks very good with dark clothes.¡±


    The old woman put the pair in Zhong Yan¡¯s hands, and Zhong Yan brought one of them up to the sun to see.


    The clear silvery color shone with a dazzling light.


    ¡°It does look very good.¡± Zhong Yan carefully returned it to the palm of his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡±

 Chapter 21 - The Right Thing

    ¡°Please keep it, I don¡¯t need the money.¡± The old woman was cheerful. ¡°Are you from the Navi Military Command?¡±


    Clearly, she could recognize the uniforms of the two guards. But she could not recognize Zhong Yan¡¯s face for some reason, so she just took him as one of their companions.


    Zhong Yan felt a little awkward and denied it. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Then you must be a guest.¡±


    An uninvited guest. Perhaps enemy would be a more appropriate term.


    Zhong Yan was just thinking about how he could somehow hint at his unwelcome identity, but the old woman was already muttering away by herself.


    ¡°Take it, I¡¯m not short of money, I just have too much time on my hands so I make these, and I brought them out to sell since my house is starting to get a little full. Ah, young people are rare on our planet. The ones who could manage to leave had all left.


    ¡°But something happened two years ago. So many young ladies and lads have come running back. Did you hear about how our planet was relabelled as a resource planet just a few years back?¡±


    Indeed he did. He had yet to be elected as a representative council member at that time, but his position was still very high. He was responsible for drafting the bill between the two star systems. The one in charge of the Labor System, the councilor who kicked off the project sat right next to his office cubicle.


    ¡°I heard the issue really blew up. They¡¯re also talking about it all over the virtual communities. I¡¯m sure young people like you have heard about it. I used to love looking through the forums when I was young, but the signal here isn¡¯t very good, so I could only use the no-image mode. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t turn on easily¡ªAh, don¡¯t say it, things are much better now that we¡¯re closer to the Navi System¡¯s virtual community. But I¡¯ve gotten old. My eyes start to hurt if I keep looking at my terminal, so I might as well work on some crafts and set up a stall.¡±


    Zhong Yan finally understood why the other person did not recognize him. He was not a very good listener, but he really liked the pair of cufflinks. Even though the old woman didn¡¯t have any want for money, it still was not proper for him to just take it. So, having a chat with her was still a good idea. Thus, he sat down.


    ¡°Even though many places on this planet are not very good, the people here are wonderful,¡± The granny began slowly, ¡°That was a tough year. Wave after wave of proposals were sent to us¡­ah, we call them proposals, but they were actually orders. Major fines like those aren¡¯t anything a small planet like ours can afford. The Labor System¡¯s council was also lost on what to do. I heard they were under a lot of pressure, but they fought for us many times. That¡¯s how it managed to drag on for so long.


    ¡°Everyone felt very uneasy on this planet, but nobody was willing to leave. Later, many young people gradually returned. They heard about what happened in their hometown and rushed back to help. Several of them returned from the Navi System. They said it went through a drastic change, and the army had taken over the council¡­I don¡¯t understand it very well either, but I¡¯m sure you know, the leader of the Navi System is anti-AI. The young people who came back discussed it with the local council, and in the end, we sought out the Navi System for help.


    ¡°We thought it would be hopeless, but they actually agreed to help. I heard the one in charge of Navi is a young man, and he¡¯s only in his twenties.¡±


    ¡°Twenty-seven.¡± Zhong Yan told her.


    ¡°Oh, yes. He would have been a little younger then. Ah, he really is a brave one. He¡¯s going directly against the Capital, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    In Zhong Yan¡¯s opinion, it was indeed a bold decision for Adrian to protect White Aegis, but it was also a wonderful move he had to take to show the world his might. By far, White Aegis Star was the center of the Navi System and the Capital¡¯s first open conflict with each other. Though the smokes of war could not be seen in this conflict, there was no doubt that Navi had won. This result stirred up all the human autonomy supporters throughout the entirety of the Federation because this was the very first time that Navi had displayed its complete lack of fear against the Capital.


    But of course, Zhong Yan knew that Adrian definitely did not think the same. Perhaps there were many people around him who thought this way. This was also the reason why the higher-ups of Navi could so quickly reach an agreement to send their troops over to protect White Aegis Star. However, Adrian definitely did not do it for that purpose. Even if he would not have received any benefits from saving White Aegis Star at the time, he would have still happily did it; this was also the reason why many people were happy to be under his leadership.


    Zhong Yan asked, ¡°So, where is the original base station of ¡®Butterfly¡¯ here?¡±


    ¡°That thing? They demolished him a long time ago.¡± The old woman shook her head. ¡°It was taken down as soon as we received Navi¡¯s authorization letter. Sigh, AI had actually managed Labor System for less than forty years, but we¡¯ve heard it¡¯s been way longer than that in the capital. Forty years ago, before ¡®Butterfly¡¯ came, there was propaganda everywhere, and everyone was praising him like he was God. They said the people in the capital had long ushered in a life of comfort, and it was all thanks to that. But if you ask me, that¡¯s just normal, it had nothing to do with whether he was God or not. Sometimes, even I don¡¯t know what the ¡®right¡¯ choice is. You can say that since we¡¯ve discovered the mines underneath the ground, it would definitely be better if we sold it compared to just leaving it there, and naturally, it would be better the earlier we start on it. But¡­¡±


    The woman¡¯s teary eyes looked towards the streets that did not look too prosperous; behind them were lush and green ancient mountains.


    ¡°But that¡¯s how humans are, sometimes the ¡®right¡¯ thing is hard for us to accept. At the end of it all, machines are still machines. They would not be able to understand humans.¡±


    Zhong Yan lowered his gaze and sat quietly beside the old lady.


    That¡¯s not it. An old person from a remote planet understands AI as a high-level machine, but anyone who received their complete compulsory education would know that he is more than just that. The one currently there on that pedestal has a complete and perfected personality. It was not that ¡°Butterfly¡± did not understand humans, he just¡­didn¡¯t care.


    But he should have cared. Since the beginning of his birth, he should have been the most empathetic and all-encompassing existence in the world.


    When Adrian arrived by the small square, he saw Zhong Yan sitting right beside an old lady next to a stall.


    Adrian had not seen Zhong Yan so relaxed in a very long time. His alabaster face looked peaceful beneath the sun, fading away his usual sharpness and distance. The track jacket was a little too big for him, so it hung loosely on his body. For a moment, it felt to Adrian like he was just a normal young man in the city, not a high-ranking council member.


    Adrian swept away the trace of softness in his heart and walked over.


    The instant Zhong Yan saw Adrian¡¯s silver eyes, he closed his fists instinctively and stuffed what he held into his pocket.


    Unfortunately, his actions were seen by Adrian. But with outsiders around, he let it go temporarily, and went instead with, ¡°Done playing around? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhong Yan stood up and turned to the old woman. ¡°I¡¯m going now, thank you for your¡­gift.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The woman looked over amiably at Adrian who was standing at the side, wearing a t-shirt that was a little too thin for the season. Even though her eyesight was slowly going, and the fact that Adrian was too tall, especially with her sitting down, and also the fact that her eyes were not as good as the man¡¯s eyes that were the same color as the cufflinks she had just given away, she still had sharper eyes than most young people. In a cheerful mood, she jested, ¡°Did your friend come to get you? That jacket belongs to him, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    The word ¡®friend¡¯ rang the alarms in Zhong Yan¡¯s mind; he was afraid that if he was recognized as Adrian¡¯s friend, that he would get mad. Thus, he quickly denied. ¡°No, we¡¯re not friends. We¡¯re¡­school¡­schoolmates.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°Are you going to get down to business or not? How long are you going to muck about here for?¡±


    Sure enough, he got angry. Zhong Yan quickly said his farewell to the old woman and left for the council house behind Adrian.


    ¡°What did she give you?¡± Adrian asked.


    Zhong Yan squeezed his pocket. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a bauble. Don¡¯t walk so fast, I can¡¯t catch up.¡±


    Adrian could not be bothered to force an answer out of him, so he beckoned one of the guards instead.


    ¡°What did he receive from that stall owner?¡±


    ¡°A pair of cufflinks, Commander.¡± The guard responded honestly.


    Zhong Yan paused in place, fearing for whether he would ask his guards what the cufflinks looked like, so he quickly cut them off, ¡°I told you it was just a bauble. Why? Are you worried I¡¯d get cheated? Let¡¯s not talk about this. Are my men safe? Are they on White Aegis as well?¡±


    ¡°Correct, but don¡¯t even think about seeing them. I¡¯m sending them out of Navi by tonight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m the only one needed here for what I want to talk about anyway. However, there¡¯s one particular person you don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry to send away.¡±


    While they were talking, they had already made their way towards the entrance of the council house. The doors were open now. Perhaps Adrian had already contacted them. Adrian told the two guards to stay at the door, and went in with Zhong Yan.


    ¡°Who shouldn¡¯t I send off?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°My right-hand man, Bayer. You know him, right?¡±


    Adrian snorted. ¡°Know him? I¡¯ve known him for ages. He often tells me to study hard while I was still doing my compulsory education so I could take over my grandfather¡¯s position when I grew up. Never thought you¡¯d be the one receiving the baton. Unfortunately, the last person I want to see besides you is him. Do you think I¡¯ll keep him around just because you say so?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not fully understanding me.¡± Zhong Yan spoke calmly. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you not to send him off just so I could see him, or that I want to go back with him. What I mean is¡­it is quite unfortunate that Mr. Bayer had gotten injured during the space pirate attack, and requires time to recuperate. White Aegis looks good. The scenery is good, and the water is clear, it will do him good to have a peaceful moment here. And since he will be resting, you won¡¯t have to give him his terminal for the time being. The signal here is poor anyway, it¡¯s not like he could handle any documents.¡±


    Adrian stopped in his steps. Zhong Yan had only realized he had left him behind after going a few steps without him. He turned around and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Which room are we heading to?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re saying?¡± Adrian asked.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s expression was as usual, and his tone was calm. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°You are suggesting that I put him under house arrest.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. He¡¯s hurt, and as my guardian, he has merit to me. Naturally, I must¡­show compassion to my subordinates. I will explain this matter clearly to the capital, so do not worry.¡±


    Both of them were clear that nobody was hurt at all during the entire ordeal. However, cutting off Bayer¡¯s connection to the capital would undoubtedly cut off Stalvern¡¯s important right hand; and this matter was completely of no harm to Navi.


    Adrian met Zhong Yan¡¯s gaze for a moment, and asked him straightforwardly, ¡°What do you mean? What did you come here for?¡±


    ¡°Let us speak inside the meeting room. What kind of people did you bring here?¡±


    ¡°Only me, there is no meeting room. I chose to speak with you in the council house just so you can make your report look a little more formal. Otherwise, you can¡¯t tell the Capital that you negotiated with Navi while walking on the streets.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there is actually no need for that.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I have no intentions of reporting our negotiations to the Capital.¡±

 Chapter 22 - Side by Side

    Most of the doors within the council were locked, so they had to try a few rooms before they could find one open. It looked like a small auditorium, and there was only a single tall window in the room that was covered with thick curtains, leaving the entire room dark.


    Adrian turned on the flashlight on his terminal and looked around the room, but could not find where the light switch was.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t see anything at all,¡± Zhong Yan said. ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as we can sit down.¡±


    It was not as if he was putting on airs, and only willing to talk if he could sit down; he was, in fact, getting a little tired from all the walking. When he saw the rows of chairs in front of him, he could not even bother about the lights and sat down on the nearest seat.


    Adrian searched another wall, but his efforts were fruitless. He was not a very picky person anyway, so he shut off his flashlight and sat beside Zhong Yan.


    But as soon as he did, he regretted it. The seating spaces in the auditorium were too small, and there was practically no space between them; every two seats shared a single armrest with each other, and they were also very narrow. When he sat on the seat neighboring Zhong Yan¡¯s, their shoulders were practically touching.


    He enjoyed situations where he could face Zhong Yan and suppress him while looking down at him from above, but he could not accept sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him.


    Fortunately, this was an auditorium, so there was no light. It would require actual visibility for him to see their current predicament, so it was not too hard to accept. Moreover, standing up again to change seats would be a blow to his image. Adrian pressed down his impulses and asked, ¡°If you¡¯re not planning to report to the Capital, are you here to talk about personal matters? I don¡¯t think we have anything to talk about besides the four hundred thousand fine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a personal matter.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not planning to report it to the Capital?¡±


    But Zhong Yan did not answer his question. Instead, he brought up something that was seemingly irrelevant. ¡°I¡¯d originally planned to come to Navi to talk to you, but I never thought you would choose to bring us to White Aegis Star. Are you confident that White Aegis is safe?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®safe¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ve removed all of the AI base stations in White Aegis?¡±


    The cogs in Adrian¡¯s mind started to turn. Zhong Yan¡¯s words held two meanings; first, that he was concerned that White Aegis Star might still be under some form of control by the AI; and second¡­if he were to get anything out of him, it could only be in Navi; or the so-called safe zone.


    Why? Why would a representative member describe an area controlled by ¡°Butterfly¡± as unsafe?


    ¡°Before White Aegis¡¯ merger with us, our technical team had already probed the entire planet. Regardless, there is no way I would ever merge White Aegis without making sure.¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°The terrain in White Aegis is very complex, with mountains and vegetation covering more than half of the land, it¡¯s not impossible to miss something. Whichever way, it cannot be compared with Navi where ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ roots have not been planted at all.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I can, at the very least, assure you that the entire area around this building is completely clean. This is the place we put the most focus on.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked towards Adrian and noticed that he was looking at him. Within the darkness, his face was a blurry sight; but his eyes were becoming more and more dazzling.


    Zhong Yan took a deep breath and spoke very vaguely. ¡°He has already gone crazy.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Adrian could not help but ask.


    Zhong Yan did not respond. He looked quietly at him, and after a few seconds, Adrian could feel a slight chill running down his back.


    Unconsciously, he shifted towards Zhong Yan, leaned forward, and asked with a burning gaze, ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhong Yan met his gaze without shrinking back. ¡°I originally came to Navi to show you something, but this is not Navi, and I do not want to take any risks.¡±


    Adrian observed Zhong Yan¡¯s expression for a moment, and said, ¡°There is no way I will bring you into Navi just because of one sentence. I don¡¯t trust you, Zhong Yan.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was so soft it was borderline inaudible. ¡°The proposal will soon be upgraded into an order. The round table is going to be disbanded. These plans will be put forth next year.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s pupils constricted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you definitely have your own intelligence channels, so you can find your own way to verify whether you want to trust me or not. There are still many things, but I will not take the risk by bringing out the evidence here.¡± Zhong Yan stressed the point in a whisper. ¡°¡®He¡¯s crazy, completely so. If there¡¯s even the slightest hint that he¡¯s not, I would not have gone against the policies to come see you in Navi.¡±


    Adrian had also suppressed his voice and questioned, ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything when we saw each other in the Institution Star.¡±


    ¡°Institution Star?¡± A chuckle leaked from Zhong Yan¡¯s lips in the dark. ¡°If we made¡­a ranking, how high do you think the Institution Star would be ranked?¡±


    The most crucial keyword was omitted from his sentence, but Adrian was very sure about what he meant. It was the planet under the strongest AI control, and there was a consensus within the entire Federation; of course, it had to be¡­


    ¡°Is it not the Capital?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Zhong Yan let out a soft sigh. ¡°We were truly too young when we were still students. Now, thinking about it¡­an artificial planet. That attribute in itself should have been the biggest warning sign.¡±


    Adrian was silent for a moment before he asked, ¡°Why are you seeking me out? What are you trying to achieve?¡±


    ¡°The round table will be gone.¡± Zhong Yan repeated. ¡°The twelve representative councilors will soon have a real disparity in status. Moreover, it is still unknown whether twelve would still remain after the reformation. We can speak about the details when we enter Navi.¡±


    This made things clear. Adrian sneered in his heart. Sure enough, this was his style; he was already caught up in the flames, but he only took the risk out of desperation when the fire grew out of hand. However, Adrian had to admit that this piece of news sent by the other man was much more credible. If Zhong Yan told him that he suddenly had an epiphany, and decided to take a vote on Navi for the sake of humanity, then he really would not dare to believe him.


    Adrian stood up and left the auditorium in large strides. Zhong Yan heard him speaking with someone at the door about something, and repeated the information he had just heard earlier, asking the person to investigate its authenticity. Thinking about it, he might be someone from the Navi Military Command¡¯s intelligence department.


    The auditorium door was half-open, and a sliver of light shone in from the outside. Adrian was standing in that light with a firm posture.


    ¡°What¡¯re you still sitting around for?¡± Adrian hung up his call and turned back to see Zhong Yan still sitting in the dark. ¡°Are you waiting for the council to put on a movie for you?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked dumbfoundedly at him for a moment, and responded, ¡°Coming.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    It was noon when they left the building.


    The sun was bright, and its rays striking for the two who had just come out from the darkness. For a moment, Zhong Yan could not get used to the sudden shift in brightness, and raised his hand to shield his eyes.


    He had not managed to tidy up his clothes for some time, so his rolled-up sleeves had already unfurled. Adrian could see now that his clothes were too big for him. The only thing revealed from the arm Zhong Yan had raised up were only four of his fair and slender fingertips.


    Zhong Yan took a few seconds to adapt to the light. He met Adrian¡¯s gaze just as he put his hand down, and could not help but wonder, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Adrian quickly moved his gaze away and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to take any risks, I don¡¯t either. You will come with me on my ship and return to Navi at lunchtime. Besides your own body, you are not allowed to bring anything inside.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Zhong Yan finally realized something. ¡°What about my clothes? I came with sincerity, and you should have some trust in me now. Only my formal uniform has¡­¡±


    ¡°Whether you¡¯re sincere or not, you still have to wait for the verification results of my intelligence team, and I still have to see the evidence. None of us want to be making any mistakes. It¡¯s a critical moment right now, and it¡¯s better to stay safe. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    Zhong Yan glared at him with his beautiful phoenix eyes. After a moment, he requested, ¡°Then, I want a set of new clothes. Yours are too big.¡±


    ¡°You still have money for clothes?¡± Adrian went on coldly, ¡°If you¡¯ve got money to buy clothes, you might as well pay me back the three hundred and sixty thousand you owe me. There¡¯s only half a month left.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this. My views have not changed.¡±


    ¡°A pity. In that case, don¡¯t even think about buying new clothes, keep that on.¡± Adrian turned to the guard at his side. ¡°Notify the fleet, we¡¯re returning to base at lunchtime.¡±


    ¡°No¡ªWhy are you like this? Those are two different things!¡±


    Adrian was unmoved, and responded plainly, ¡°I do not differentiate between work and personal matters. That¡¯s just how I am.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little less unreasonable? Are you really a soldier? You¡¯re practically no different from a space pirate.¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°You saw my dad this morning, blame it on my genes.¡±


    Zhong Yan was suddenly at a loss for words. He knew that the reason Adrian could say this was because he did not care about that father of his anymore. After all, he had never seen his father, nor had he had many expectations for a man like that to begin with. A person he has no care for would never be able to hurt him.


    If you knew Adrian as well as Zhong Yan did, then you would definitely be able to find words of rebuttal even for such a strong comeback. All he needed to do was to bring up his fatherless childhood, but Zhong Yan did not say a single word of it.


    He and Adrian were no longer friends. In seven years, they¡¯ve met twice, and exchanged only bitter words between them. Adrian frequently used their past as a weapon against him, but he would never do the same.


    Those were the most precious memories of his life; he could not bear to use them in such a way.


    ¡­¡­


    When Adrian returned to his ship, the liaison officer from the intelligence department could be seen rushing over to him. Their previous call had been too short, so he wanted to clear up the situation with Adrian. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly caught sight of the person right behind Adrian.


    The liaison officer looked as if he had seen a ghost, and he suddenly paused.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Adrian asked in puzzlement. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re not clear about from my previous orders?¡±


    ¡°This¡­isn¡¯t this¡­um¡­that¡­special commissioner?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to say, he¡¯s coming back with us. Great timing, inform headquarters about it.¡±


    What? The liaison officer was absolutely baffled; he-who-must-not-be-named-in-Navi himself was actually about to enter Navi! What is going on? But fortunately, he still had the identity of special commissioner. Otherwise, he would have nothing to call him by!


    ¡°Yes, and how long will the special commissioner be staying in the main star? Are there any arrangements for when we arrive?¡±


    ¡°No need for any arrangements, I¡¯ll deal with it myself.¡± Adrian continued, ¡°He¡¯ll be there for at least half a month. Go pass on the message.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Zhong Yan who had been standing quietly behind Adrian stopped the liaison officer spoke up. ¡°It won¡¯t take that long. I only need to evaluate whether Navi is suitable for ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ implementation or not. I¡¯ll be done in a few days.¡±


    The liaison officer looked at Adrian.


    Adrian asked, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at me for? Am I your commander or him?¡±


    ¡°You are, sir. The special commissioner will be staying in the main star for half a month; I will inform headquarters now.¡±


    As soon as he was done speaking, he quickly slipped off without hesitation, completely ignoring Zhong Yan¡¯s attempts to stop him.


    Zhong Yan could not get him to listen, so he could only turn to Adrian and said in surprise, ¡°When did I tell you I was going to stay that long? The things I need to speak with you about will take no more than two days.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Navi is a place you can come and go as you please?¡± Adrian looked condescendingly down at him from above. ¡°Pay your fines, or don¡¯t even think about running away.¡±

 Chapter 23 - Slow Down

    By the time Zhong Yan realized he had been kidnapped, it was already too late.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t what we agreed!¡± It took Zhong Yan a lot of effort to follow Adrian down the warship¡¯s corridor. ¡°Slow down, I can¡¯t keep up!¡±


    Adrian turned a deaf ear to his last sentence and did not slow down in the slightest. Without any hesitation at all, he said, ¡°I have no disagreements whatsoever with you. You asked to enter Navi, and I allowed it. You should be feeling grateful right now.¡±


    ¡°I came to seek a collaboration! Does the Navi Military Command treat their business partners like this? I¡­Slow down!¡±


    Adrian could feel a force pulling him back. He lowered his head to look. Turns out Zhong Yan was pulling onto the hem of his t-shirt.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore.¡±


    Adrian thought he was just complaining for the sake of it, but when he turned around, he could see that Zhong Yan was actually panting lightly as if he had just exercised excessively.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s physical condition had been very poor since he was still in school, and he kept having menial issues like headaches and fevers during that time. During their second year, Adrian forced him to take morning runs for some time, but school work became more and more arduous for him. Zhong Yan still had to deal with his work as the Student Council President, so he would often go to sleep only when the early hours of morning came. It was better for him to sleep a little longer, so Adrian could not bear to wake him up an hour earlier. Thus, his morning runs could only be left aside.


    But during the month when he ran with him, Adrian could fully understand how bad the other person¡¯s physical condition really was. The standard track was only 400 meters, and most people would often be able to run ten laps within half an hour during their warmup morning run. After they were done, they could still chat and laugh, but Zhong Yan¡¯s face started to pale after completing only a single round, gasping to the point where he could not even speak; even when severely dehydrated, Adrian would still be able to survive doing two laps in a row. Then, he would not be able to move a single limb at all.


    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t run, you can¡¯t just sit around.¡± Adrian pulled him up halfway from the ground. ¡°Get up and walk for a little. Xiao Yan. Come on, you can do it.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face was as pale as a ghost, and he was leaning on his body without a single drop of energy left in him. Through his violent gasps, he could only barely make out, ¡°No¡­can¡¯t¡­I can¡¯t move¡­give me¡­a break¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m holding you, come on, just walk for a bit. You¡¯re really too¡­you only jogged for two rounds, if someone didn¡¯t know, they might even think you just finished a 10K timed run!¡±


    Zhong Yan grabbed his own chest and felt so tired that he barely wanted to talk at all. Adrian allowed him to prop an arm over his neck while he took his waist to support his weight.


    The two walked a small half lap around the outer ring of the field. Zhong Yan finally managed to catch his breath and softly began, ¡°Adrian¡­can I run only half a lap tomorrow?¡±


    His sweaty body was sticking to Adrian¡¯s, but neither of the two had any intentions of changing their posture.


    ¡°Half a lap? Don¡¯t be like that, just the distance between our room to the canteen alone is much further than half a lap. Even if you don¡¯t feel embarrassed running that little, I¡¯d be too embarrassed to join you.¡±


    È»ÅÜÂýµãÒ²¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Two laps is too much.¡± Zhong Yan complained quietly, appearing very wronged. ¡°You have to let me adapt¡­I really can¡¯t run anymore¡­if not, running slower is also¡­¡±


    When he spoke, Adrian suddenly tightened his hold on his waist and blocked him with a turn of his body.


    ¡°Fellow senior sisters,¡± Adrian winked at the two girls who were passing by, ¡°could you please not record us? My honey¡¯s a bit on the shy side.¡±


    One of the girls blushed instantly, and could not muster any words as she watched his mirthful silver eyes. But the other girl was much more carefree, and openly raised her hand to fiddle with her terminal. She said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said so, I¡¯ll delete it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, senior sister. What¡¯s your name? We can go for lunch later.¡±


    ¡°No, no need.¡± The two girls could recognize that he had only been saying these words out of courtesy, and quickly refuse him before leaving tactfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now, they left.¡± Adrian was amused. ¡°Are you trying to strangle me to death?¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan realize how nervous he was. He had subconsciously tightened his arm around the other person¡¯s neck. He quickly let him go and took a step back. After steadying himself, he dropped his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna run tomorrow¡­who knows how many people will be filming.¡±


    Adrian knew that he valued his image very much, and refused to show weakness in front of everyone; he definitely did not want any recordings or photos of him during his embarrassing state of being like wet rags fished out of a pond and circulated around the school forums for people to comment on.


    Adrian looked at Zhong Yan. His sweaty black hair was sticking lightly to his forehead, the contrast making his skin appear excessively pale. His sweat dripped down from the tips of his hair and rolled down his handsome face, gliding over his clavicle that was still faintly rising and falling from his gasps, slipping beneath his collar.


    For the first time, he had the same idea as Zhong Yan; indeed, this appearance was¡­better off hidden from the others.


    ¡°Ade?¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s chest constricted when he saw the unhappy expression on his face. Adrian sacrificed his own time to run with him in the mornings, and he was still grumbling and complaining¡­


    ¡°I¡­I think I feel better now after some rest, I¡¯ll do two laps tomorrow, okay?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Adrian came back to his senses. ¡°Oh, really? That¡¯s great. Let¡¯s run around the art campus¡¯ field tomorrow. There¡¯s a lot of people around your campus.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I made eel with rice for lunch today, I¡¯ll pack it up for you later so you can take it with you¡­¡±


    Seeing that familiar smile returning to his lips once more, the unease in Zhong Yan¡¯s heart was finally set down.


    He had to stop being needy and ungrateful in the future, or so Zhong Yan warned himself. He had to go with Adrian¡¯s every word; if he told him to run, then he had to run, so what if it was a little tiring? Adrian had now entered the School of Military Affairs, he will have many new friends; what would he do if he decided to move in with Fayn Suster instead if he ever made him unhappy?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°We barely even walked, have you really been sitting in your office for seven years?¡± Adrian tried to pull the hem of his t-shirt back. ¡°Don¡¯t pull on my clothes!¡±


    Zhong Yan tightened his grip on his clothes even more, refusing to let go. He fumed, ¡°I kept telling you to slow down but you didn¡¯t! I wouldn¡¯t be this out of breath if we walked slower! You¡¯ve been like this since long ago. I¡¯ve been keeping it in for many years. I told you I can¡¯t run anymore, but you kept telling me to run! Do you think everyone has a perfectly arranged exercising schedule like you from a young age? I¡¯ve ran more that month than I¡¯ve ever walked in my entire life!¡±


    Adrian looked incredulously at him. ¡°That¡¯s eight years ago, why are you bringing that up now? What¡¯s more, what¡¯s wrong with that? You can¡¯t deny it, your physical condition improved during the latter half of that year!¡±


    ¡°No! I caught a cold that month as well, but you just didn¡¯t realize it.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even tell me and now it¡¯s my fault? I was practically keeling over with work and I still had to wake up early every morning to run with you. Thinking about it now, I might as well have fed my time to the dogs instead! I told you to let go of my shirt, stop pulling it!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Two patrolmen who were passing by were stunned to see their commander raising hell with the councilman-who-must-not-be-named. Right when the two were hesitating over whether they should be changing their patrol route, the conflict between the two men escalated. Hands were raised, and they watched as his commander wrestled with the man¡¯s hands, but the other would not let go no matter what. Not only that, he even started grabbing onto Adrian¡¯s clothes with his free hand.


    ¡°Are¡­ are they going to fight? Should we go and help?¡± One of the patrolling guards asked.


    ¡°Help with what?¡± asked the other. ¡°When has our commander ever needed help in a scuffle? Isn¡¯t he always the one taking on a group of people by himself?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    The two patrolmen watched for a while, but Adrian did not lay waste to the other man as quickly as they expected. The two continued to struggle with each other for a few minutes, and their quarrel had not stopped during it, but Adrian still was not able to retrieve his clothes from the other man¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°What¡¯s the commander doing?¡± asked one of the patrolling guards to his companion. ¡°Isn¡¯t it easier if he just breaks his wrists? How can he not pull him off?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that what¡¯s his name¡¯s wrists are so thin, the commander could pull it off in one tug.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s worried about the consequences? Isn¡¯t that guy a special commissioner this time? It¡¯s gonna be trouble if he gets broken bones in our warship.¡±


    The two were stuck in the middle of their patrol route, and the two could not figure out whether they should continue going or not. So, they whispered amongst themselves for a while, and finally caught Zhong Yan¡¯s attraction.


    Zhong Yan paused in his actions, and quickly let go before whispering, ¡°Someone¡¯s here.¡±


    Since his clothes had been pulled by Adrian during their struggle, his overly large jacket was now slanted over to the side, revealing a small area of his smooth left shoulder. Adrian subconsciously cut in between him and the patrolmen, blocking the view from the two with his body.


    ¡°Enjoyed the show? Don¡¯t the two of you have patrol?¡± asked Adrian.


    His eyes were extremely cold, and when the two guards saw them, they felt a chill run down their bodies. They quickly declared that they had not seen anything, and hurriedly sped up their steps to continue their patrol without allowing their gaze to stray.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at being a menace, aren¡¯t you?¡± Adrian reached out to pull his collar straight before he mocked, ¡°Must¡¯ve been real tiring to put up a show all this while huh?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± said Zhong Yan through gritted teeth. But thinking about it again, there was no merit in explaining; Adrian was now fully confident that he had been deliberately deceiving him all those years, and he would never believe him no matter how he denied it. He put down this potentially hazardous topic and said, ¡°Forget it¡­it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m getting hungry, weren¡¯t we going to the canteen?¡±


    Adrian responded in a huff. ¡°So you¡¯ve got the balls to mention that huh? If you hadn¡¯t started kicking up a fuss, I would¡¯ve finished eating by now.¡±


    ¡°Then walk slower.¡±


    Adrian snorted before turning to leave. Even though he did not verbally agree to it, his pace had clearly slowed down.


    This was all for the sake of his image in the eyes of his subordinates, thought Adrian. If he was caught arguing with Zhong Yan again, the one losing face would be him. What¡¯s more, there was important news he wanted right now from Zhong Yan.


    The waist and hem area of his clothes were wrinkled from their earlier tug of war, so it looked very awkward. Zhong Yan was following behind him and frowned as he stared at the wrinkles.


    It was just in time for lunch, so there should be many people at the canteen. This entire ship was under Adrian¡¯s command, so Adrian should be maintaining the image of his status, but if his clothes were so messy¡­


    Zhong Yan hesitated over and over again, but still reached out to straighten the back of his clothes before they reached the canteen.


    Adrian turned back to look at him and did not put it to heart. Casually, he commented, ¡°People with OCD sure are riddled with problems¡±

 Chapter 24 - Cupcake

    The second Adrian and Zhong Yan walked through the doors, the bustling canteen was washed over with a strange silence.


    Both of them were accustomed to receiving the attention of a crowd. Adrian casually sat himself down on an empty seat, while Zhong Yan sat directly opposite of him.


    During their usual missions, Adrian would always eat at the canteen with the other soldiers. It was well known that this young commander did not have much arrogance in private, and was very well-received. If there were no military officers joining him in his meal, he would usually pick a seat in front of one of the normal soldiers who was dining alone. Sometimes, when they saw him sitting alone, there would also be soldiers who would sit with him regardless of their ranks in the army.


    But of course, nobody had been doing that recently. They had heard the news that the commander had been in a disastrous mood lately, and his temper was about ten times more violent than usual; nobody wanted to be willingly smitten.


    Right now, the source of the problem himself was sitting opposite of their commander at the same table, ready for lunch¡­


    Some people silently sped up their pace for fear of the big bang of the century possibly blowing up the next minute or so, and getting their innocent selves caught up in it; there were also the gutsier ones who slowed down their pace so they could watch Navi Military Command¡¯s unmentionable taboo man.


    Zhong Yan did not pay attention to the surrounding atmosphere; he was looking through the virtual menu displayed on the table.


    In combat-type warships like this one, the non-combat areas were designed to be very simple for the sake of saving space. The tables used in the dining hall were narrow and long, just wide enough to fit a meal tray for the person sitting on the opposite side. With such a narrow distance, there was no need to embed a virtual menu on the surface in front of each diner¡¯s seat, just one was enough for two to share. There was a virtual screen perpendicular to the table right in the middle, and the image was visible on both sides.


    Zhong Yan skimmed through a few pages, and just when he was about to order a regular looking bowl of noodles, Adrian suddenly caught his wrist.


    The hearts of all the people focusing on them jumped¡ªWhat¡¯s happening? Are they going to fight?


    ¡°That¡¯s spicy,¡± said Adrian as he let him go.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Zhong Yan gave up on the noodles; he did not eat spicy food.


    After going through a few more pages, Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. There were actually desserts on the very last page. The selection was small with just a few of the classics available, but they had a cupcake amongst them, though it was not dressed up in any fancy decorations. It did not look remarkable, but¡­he had been too busy recently. It had been a long time since he has had any sweets.


    Just as Zhong Yan was about to order one, Adrian caught his wrist again.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is this also spicy?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to skip lunch if you order that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good if I save you some money?¡±


    ¡°Well thank you very much, I¡¯ll accept your thoughtfulness.¡± Adrian was still holding onto his wrist, unwilling to let go, while his other hand flipped the menu away from the desserts section, ¡°Get a proper meal.¡±


    Zhong Yan glared at him over the virtual screen. ¡°I want to eat cake.¡±


    ¡°No can do.¡± Adrian snarked maliciously, ¡°It¡¯s cute of you to think you can just come to my place and eat cake. It¡¯s nice enough for me to even let you eat.¡±


    Since he was now residing under his roof, Zhong Yan could only order a proper meal with disappointment. But when it came Adrian¡¯s turn to order, Adrian ordered a meal and added a cupcake right in front of him before slowly turning off the virtual screen.


    Zhong Yan was so mad that he could not speak. After a while, both of their meals arrived. Zhong Yan stared at the cupcake on the corner of Adrian¡¯s tray and could not help but ask, ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t eat sweets?¡±


    ¡°I ordered it for decoration,¡± he responded. ¡°When I¡¯m sick of looking at it, I¡¯ll throw it away.¡±


    ¡°And you call yourself a soldier. It¡¯s shameful to waste food!¡±


    ¡°The person least qualified to say that is you,¡± Adrian retorted. ¡°Speak to me again if you can finish what you ordered.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked down at the portion size of the meal in front of him and was stunned for a moment.


    His appetite had always been very small, and for many years, he had always been cooking based on how much he could eat; but things were a little more awkward when it came to eating out. Not being able to finish a single person¡¯s portion was normal for him.


    In the past, when he was still in the Supreme Institution, he would need to divide a portion of his food for Adrian every time they ate outside to avoid having leftovers.


    What¡¯s more, the canteen in the warship had larger portions than usual. For him, it really did seem¡­impossible to finish.


    This was the Navi Military Command¡¯s warship, it would be too unsightly of him to leave half of his food untouched with so many of Navi¡¯s men watching him. Zhong Yan began to regret not having insisted on just having a small cake. Since he missed that chance, he should just pack it up and be done with it; going hungry was better than letting others see him leave behind most of his meal¡­


    With his cutlery in hand, Zhong Yan was in a dilemma. Suddenly, Adrian who was sitting across from him pushed his own tray forward.


    Zhong Yan was stunned. He was much too familiar to this action: before they started eating in the past, Adrian would always push his tray forward just like this if he ever made a difficult face, signaling for Zhong Yan to portion some of his food to him, and it had already become a tacit agreement between them. Later on, when they ate in public, Zhong Yan would only need to give Adrian a glance before he would help him portion away some of his food without having to say anything.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Adrian grunted impatiently. ¡°You¡¯re not actually planning to waste the food on my ship, are you?¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly took the tray.


    The people in the canteen were horrified to see the councilman, their commander¡¯s worst enemy, scooping out half of his food over to the commander¡¯s tray in a very natural manner. After that, he even tidied up the position of the broccoli and the salad with his spoon. After fixing everything up, he passed the tray back.


    Adrian frowned. ¡°You¡¯re only eating that much? Even rabbits eat more than you do.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°That depends on what species of rabbit it is. Adult giant space rabbits eat more than you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Most of the time, Zhong Yan was not a man of many words, and would even end up more of the silent type when it came to speaking with strangers; but when giant space rabbits were mentioned, things would always go out of control. Adrian recalled back to many years ago when he had been dragged into a two-hour supplemental lesson on ¡°how normal rabbits mutate into giant space rabbits¡± and ¡°100 habits and characteristics of the giant space rabbit¡±, and as any wise man would, he chose to shut his mouth. Instead of lingering on that topic, he decided instead to reflect deeply upon himself.


    There were so many animals that did not eat much, why did he have to choose a rabbit?


    ¡­¡­


    Zhong Yan brought the little cupcake with him and sat in Adrian¡¯s office.


    Adrian was sitting behind his desk, handling his business. His office terminal was one-way so he could not see its contents. Thinking about it, it probably consisted of the ship¡¯s internal affairs. After all, the signal was unstable during navigation, and it was not very easy to contact land.


    Zhong Yan stared at Adrian¡¯s profile and daydreamed for a while. Then, he placed the cupcake¡ªthe one that took him much effort to get Adrian to agree to give him¡ªcarefully on the corner of his desk before turning on his own terminal to write his reports. He was going to send it back to the capital as soon as he landed.


    ¡°Why do I have to stay for half a month?¡± Halfway through his report, Zhong Yan stopped to ask, ¡°I can¡¯t just tell the capital that you¡¯re forcing me to pay the marriage refusal fines, right?¡±


    Without even lifting his head, Adrian responded, ¡°You could also choose to pay the fines now, then you can return as soon as we¡¯re done discussing business.¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you pay the fines now? Even if you detain me for half a month, I still won¡¯t give you the money. You still pay to pay it when the deadlines come. You¡¯re just wasting time.¡±


    ¡°You might not be able to handle the consequences if you don¡¯t hand over the money before the deadline.¡± Adrian paused his work to glare coldly at Zhong Yan. ¡°Do you think I would allow a councilman to share spousal rights with me? Don¡¯t even talk about keeping your clothes then, you shouldn¡¯t even dream about keeping your terminal.¡±


    Zhong Yan had to admit that this was indeed a powerful threat. In this day and age, you were practically disabled without a personal terminal; not to mention someone with such a high status as him. If he were at a distant star system without his terminal, the entire department below him would come to a complete halt without any ability to work remotely.


    But if you asked him to pay¡­


    There was still half a month, there was time to think about it more. With a headache, Zhong Yan shut off his terminal. He picked up the cupcake and began to nibble on it.


    ¡°Are there any people in your ship wearing a similar size to me?¡± Zhong Yan spent much effort to roll up his sleeves to reveal his hand, ¡°The sleeves keep falling down even after I roll them up, it¡¯s too troublesome.¡±


    Adrian raised his head to look at the man wrapped in his jacket. He imagined if that jacket was switched out for someone else¡¯s, and immediately felt offended.


    ¡°No. If anyone tries to join the army with a body like yours, they¡¯ll be the first to go.¡±


    Zhong Yan wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.


    Only then did Adrian remember that the destroyed communicator in the room had yet to be repaired. He asked aloud, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Commander, Adjutant Suster¡¯s fleet has converged with ours.¡±


    ¡°Tell him to board the warship and wait for me in the conference room. I have something to speak with him about.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Zhong Yan stopped filling himself with the cake. The cake suddenly did not feel as appetizing to him as before.


    Adrian felt suspicious as he watched him put the cake down before he left. Did he choke?


    It had not been very long since Adrian left the office when another knock came from the door.


    Zhong Yan hesitated, but he still went over to open it. He thought that Adrian might have locked him in here, but he never expected the door to actually open. There was a patrolman standing outside.


    ¡°A¡­Your commander went out,¡± announced Zhong Yan.


    ¡°I know, I came to look for you.¡± As he said that, the patrolman nervously handed him a glass of water.


    Zhong Yan accepted it and asked in suspicion, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It is a glass of water.¡±


    Zhong Yan felt even more suspicious. ¡°¡­Why are you giving me a glass of water?¡±


    For a moment, the patrolman did not know how to answer him. Earlier, Adrian stopped him, and told him to ¡°pour a glass of water for that guy in my office, but don¡¯t tell him I asked you to do it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­If there¡¯s nothing else you need, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±


    Saying that, the patrol left speedily, leaving the confused Zhong Yan behind with the glass of water.

 Chapter 25 - Majestic Attire

    Adrian gave a simple explanation about the nature of Zhong Yan¡¯s trip to the few officers present in the boardroom.


    ¡°Contact the generals immediately after landing, we will hold a meeting at headquarters an hour after our landing so we can discuss with the special commissioner about ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ entry into Navi.¡±


    The liaison officer nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    An officer from the logistics department asked, ¡°Commander, since the special commissioner has come this time to seek collaboration with us, should we arrange upscale accommodations for him?¡±


    ¡°Upscale accommodations? Do you think we have something like that at the primary star? What about the neighboring planet? There¡¯s a new resort there that looks pretty good.¡± Fayn suggested.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous for Zhong Yan to be alone. I don¡¯t feel good leaving him elsewhere,¡± Adrian said. ¡°He can just stay at my place. I can watch him myself, you don¡¯t have to bother with it. As for his reasons for being here, I shall warn you not to believe him so easily about whether he¡¯s really here for a sincere collaboration. We still don¡¯t know the truth of it yet. Liaison Officer, pass this message to the generals before the meeting begins.¡±


    The liaison officer accepted the order and noted it down in his mind.


    After the meeting was dissolved, Fayn was left alone.


    ¡°Brother.¡± Fayn put his arm around Adrian¡¯s shoulder and heaved a long sigh. ¡°What did you say before I left? You said you didn¡¯t want to see what¡¯s his face, and you wanted me to talk to him no matter what. And then what happened? I told you something happened over there and like an idiot you flew right over in a fighter by yourself. You were the first one there! If you knew that was going to happen, why¡¯d you tell me to go?¡±


    Adrian turned off the datasheet and responded plainly. ¡°Those space pirates who escaped from Navi have been making waves around the neighboring star systems. It¡¯s had a very bad impact on them, and it¡¯s part of our responsibilities to capture them.¡±


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Fayn went on, ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t see him but you still went with my suggestion anyway.¡±


    ¡°What suggestion?¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending, I¡¯m talking about the one I mentioned last month.¡± Fayn lowered his voice to make himself sound mysterious. ¡°You know, the dark room. Didn¡¯t you just¡­¡±


    Adrian threw his arm off his shoulder in disgust and cut him off. ¡°What on earth is going on in your brain? My house has complete security system protection, and barely anyone lives there. There¡¯s no information anyone can steal from there. The only person authorized to go in and out that house is me only. That should be able to limit him to the greatest extent. The interiors and exteriors are pretty decent. It¡¯s the most ideal place so far.¡±


    With an expression signaling his thoughts of ¡°whatever you say¡±, Fayn asked, ¡°Well, since this is all happening, are the two of you rambling about divorce yet?¡±


    ¡°Watch your mouth, I¡¯m not married to him yet.¡± Adrian added, ¡°And we won¡¯t be married.¡±


    ¡°Actually, isn¡¯t it a good thing for both of you if you married him now? You can have an even steadier collaboration.¡±


    Adrian shot him a glare and said, ¡°We are the stronger party, there¡¯s no need for your commander to sell his body for the sake of collaboration now, is there?¡±


    ¡°How could you call that selling your body! Just ask yourself, do you want this wedding?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Adrian was firm. ¡°I don¡¯t lack confidence to the point where I have to marry someone who doesn¡¯t like me.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s original plans after landing were to immediately bring Zhong Yan to the headquarter¡¯s conference room; but after some thought, it felt quite inappropriate, so he notified the liaison officer to change the location to a temporary meeting room instead¡ªhe did not want to take any risks of bringing a councilman into their headquarters.


    One of the officers who lived rather close by arrived early. He saw that the adjutant, the liaison officer, and several of the other members of the fleet had already arrived, so he asked, ¡°Is the commander not with you?¡±


    Both the liaison officer and Fayn looked at each other and were both at a loss. ¡°I didn¡¯t see him when we came down, must be held up with some work or something.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    And the person holding up Adrian was Zhong Yan.


    ¡°Are you moving or not?¡±


    Adrian was pulling one of Zhong Yan¡¯s arms in an attempt to pull him out of the car, but Zhong Yan refused to let go of the armrest.


    ¡°No! How am I going to attend a meeting wearing this? You¡¯re all in military uniforms but all I have is a track jacket. What¡¯s with that? And this jacket is extremely oversized!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing a military uniform either!¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re your men, it¡¯s fine for you to dress casually.¡± Zhong Yan was desperately trying to instill propriety and decency in him. ¡°I¡¯m the enemy who came to seek collaboration¡­ah!¡±


    After being at a stalemate for so long, his arms were already running out of energy. Taking advantage of that, Adrian forcefully tore him from the car. Zhong Yan turned around in hopes that he could hold onto the door, but his hands were quickly clamped down by Adrian. He grabbed him by the wrists and dragged him away from the car.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you think you need to dress formally to see your enemies. The Navi Military Command is uninterested in such hypocritical things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, you¡­just listen to me first. You must have video archives for major meetings, right?¡± Zhong Yan tried to pry himself off with the weight of his body, but it was still not enough to beat Adrian¡¯s strength. ¡°Ow, be a little gentler¡­¡±


    Adrian looked down to see how tightly he was holding him; red marks were already appearing on Zhong Yan¡¯s fair wrists from his struggling.


    He let him go. Immediately, Zhong Yan¡¯s hands retreated back into his sleeves, and he quickly said, ¡°Listen, I can¡¯t dress so inappropriately. It¡¯s not just for the sake of my image either, it¡¯ll make me look disrespectful. I don¡¯t have to be in a suit. As long as¡­As long as it fits, anything¡¯s fine.¡±


    Adrian could hardly care whether Zhong Yan would humiliate himself or not; if possible, he would forcefully drag Zhong Yan all the way into the meeting room, but that person was truly too weak. He had only been dragging him around for a little while¡­Adrian retracted his gaze from his sleeve and threw out a sentence with a sullen face. ¡°Wait here.¡±


    Zhong Yan watched as he returned to the car, and came back with a military coat after a moment.


    Adrian walked up to Zhong Yan and shook open the coat before putting it on him and fixing up the topmost button.


    Being draped over with the heavy military coat made it look as if his body was covered with a cloak.


    ¡°Satisfied now?¡± Adrian asked in a cold tone.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zhong Yan looked at the gold-trimmed black military uniform on his body; the dazzling insignia at his shoulder showed that these clothes belonged to the highest commander of this military command. ¡°Would it be¡­out of place for me to wear this?¡±


    ¡°Out of place?¡± Adrian snorted. ¡°Not like you¡¯re from this system to begin with, what¡¯s there to be out of place of? Only you would be bothered by such trivial matters. If you don¡¯t want to wear it, take it off. I¡¯ll drag you into the meeting room if I have to.¡±


    Zhong Yan silently gripped tightly onto the military coat. ¡°I¡¯ll wear it.¡±


    The moment Zhong Yan stepped through the doors of their temporary meeting room, all the officers inside stood up. One of the officer¡¯s mind was still caught up on his military work from earlier, and automatically bowed and greeted, ¡°Commander¡­¡±


    The officer next to him shoved a foot at him, and kicked him back to his senses; only then did he see that the man wearing the commander¡¯s coat was not actually Adrian.


    The officers on the scene exchanged strange looks with each other. Following Zhong Yan¡¯s emergence, Adrian quickly appeared behind him. Then, the sound of greeting burst out in the room and Adrian said, ¡°Everyone, take your seats.¡±


    He took the main seat and sat with a straight posture, deliberately leaving behind an empty space to his right. Steadily, Zhong Yan settled down in that seat.


    Most of the people here were seeing Zhong Yan for the first name, and nobody would have expected him to actually be wearing the military uniform of their supreme commander, so they could not help but spare a few extra glances at him. This man did not have a sturdy body, You could even say he was skinny, so the coat had become a cloak when worn on him; but surprisingly, it suited him. The deep black, and the gold trims over his alabaster face was inviolable, and it gave him the air of a man of high standing and grace.


    Adrian began, ¡°I believe everyone in this room has been informed about why we¡¯re suddenly having a meeting today.¡±


    Everyone turned their attention to him. Adrian was wearing a simple, thin t-shirt, but nobody thought his aura was in any way suppressed by Zhong Yan¡¯s beside him; on the contrary, he was only sitting leisurely, but they felt that he could easily stand up against Zhong Yan. He did not need his fancy decorations. He was the unparallelled king of this star system, and the spiritual pillar of the human renaissance movement.


    ¡°Councilor Zhong Yan, you said you came with your sincerity.¡± Adrian put his attention on Zhong Yan. ¡°Now, please show it to us.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Zhong Yan was calm as he returned the gaze of those sharp, icy eyes. Then, he stood up and looked around the entire room.


    ¡°Generals of the Navi System, with great designs, I have traveled past thousands of planets from the Capital just to bring this warning to you: AI has already stepped down its altar. He will no longer be as our ancestors envisioned, the selfless ¡®God¡¯ they created. Instead, in its endless process of self-improvement and updating, it has become closer and closer to a real human being. It possessed the character of man, and that should have been the goal of ¡®artificial intelligence¡¯. But unfortunately, when ¡®Butterfly¡¯ was the one going through that change, this major breakthrough in the scientific community might not be any blessing to us.¡±


    ¡°Two years ago, there was a misjudgment case that shook the entire federation. I¡¯m sure everyone still remembers it. Let¡¯s start from the bottom. According to the internal data I possess¡­¡± Zhong Yan turned on the projection function on his personal terminal and cast a holographic image onto the table. ¡°This matter was not just an accident like how we tried to sugarcoat it. It was a deliberate misjudgment with malintent. And an even more terrifying point is that the internal archive records that I¡¯m showing you have been tampered with by someone. According to the series of events that I am about to tell everyone, I have reason to believe that the first person in contact with those records is the Representative Councilor, Sir Bard Pearson and his party members who have established a more intimate relationship with ¡®Butterfly¡¯ without our knowledge. Please pay attention to the second paragraph of this information¡­¡±


    Adrian had long known that Zhong Yan was an excellent speaker. He seemed to have been born steadfast and calm. He could always keep an unmoved expression no matter how shocking or outrageous the words coming out of his mouth were; his articulation was always clear, his tone smooth, and it gave people the illusion that he was the most objective and rational existence; it was as if he had anticipated everything, and it was all in his control, giving people the inclinations to believe in him. Many years ago, in the Supreme Institution, this was the steady manner in which he conquered his professors and the student council, allowing him to rise into the position of Student Council President in just his second year despite how rare an occurrence it was.


    An hour later, Zhong Yan¡¯s declaration came to an end. The records and materials had already been brought out, and was fully capable of proving his conjectures. The AI that had been brought up onto that pedestal by human hands and now holds onto the destinies of billions of human beings, has been colluding with a small number of the most powerful people in this generation and was seeking gains for his own selfish desires.

 Chapter 26 - Breaking Through

    Humans have their own selfish desires, but they are limited by their physical bodies. There are limits to one¡¯s energy. No matter who it may be, they will eventually pass away after a hundred years.


    But what if an omnipotent, omniscient, and immortal ¡°human being¡± appeared?


    The officers in the room were all shocked. They whispered their thoughts and ideas to each other. It was only Adrian who had thought about this matter since long before. He did not join in on their discussion, and instead asked the person to his right, ¡°What is your aim?¡±


    Everyone stopped their discussions and looked at them.


    Zhong Yan slowly took his seat again and responded unperturbed. ¡°I do not understand your question.¡±


    ¡°You do understand.¡± Adrian continued on sharply. ¡°You said you crossed thousands of miles to get here, all that so you could pass us a warning? You might be able to trick them with this, but not me. What do you want when we begin our collaboration?¡±


    Zhong Yan let out a faint sigh and responded slowly. ¡°With Councilor Pearson in the lead, there are several others who believe that there is a problem with the membership structure of our Supreme Council of today. They believe that the equal ¡¯round table¡¯ structure of the twelve Representative Counselors should be changed to a ¡®pyramid¡¯. This plan is already being drafted, and if they¡¯re quick, it will be on the itinerary by next year, and it¡¯s even possible it may start before they start to push forward the Honor Decree¡¯.¡±


    Everyone heard him explain what the ¡°Honor Decree¡± was prior to this. For the sake of ensuring the stability of the Federation¡¯s government and to further improve the community¡¯s efficacy, they will phase out the fines system and will instead replace it with the deprivation of property and power. So to say, you are only required to pay a lump sum in order to refuse a proposal, but the punishments you may face in the future are likely to include prison sentences.


    With the obeisance towards AI as honor, that is the ¡°Honor Decree¡±.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s next year, I¡¯m still only twenty-eight, that is far too young for the Supreme Council. Moreover, I have only just taken up my seat as a Representative Councilor not long ago, I will definitely be the first to be deprived of power as soon as the structure of authority changes in the council.¡±


    It is rumored that this legendary member of council had taken up his position at an alarmingly young age, all with the help of the century-old household, the great Yate family. Moreover, insiders would know that the patriarch of the Yate Family, Stalvern Yate, is constantly in conflict with Bard Pearson, another representative member of council. The two have been building up their cliques in both the Supreme Council and the upper echelons of the capital, meeting each other face on as equals; they were the two most influential humans of this age.


    Even though Stalvern had already retired, his influence was still there, and the fact that he could still raise Zhong Yan up onto that seat was proof of it. But it was unfortunate that no matter how great your influence was after retirement, you still could not compete with someone who was still actively holding his position. Right now, it was Bard, his old rival, that wanted the reform; he would definitely be aiming for Zhong Yan¡¯s head, and Zhong Yan¡¯s position truly would become a difficult thing to hold onto.


    Zhong Yan had only told them that he would be the first to bear the brunt only because of his young age, but the high-ranking officers knew that much more was at play in the background. But it truly was an awkward point to consider that the person behind Zhong Yan was in fact, Adrian¡¯s own grandfather. Thus, everyone accepted his reason of being ¡°too young¡± and said nothing.


    ¡°So, your purpose is to stop them and keep your seat?¡± One of the officers asked.


    Zhong Yan gave a faint nod in silent accord of the statement.


    Adrian did not continue bombarding him with questions, seemingly having accepted his reasons. He said to Zhong Yan, ¡°You don¡¯t have to listen to the rest.¡±


    He stood up and walked over to open the door to the conference room, and ordered the two guards at the door, ¡°Bring him to my car.¡±


    Zhong Yan followed him to the door, and with his body as a shield against the gazes of those behind them, he carefully reached his hand out from beneath his cloak to pull Adrian¡¯s clothes.


    This was a habitual action they were both very familiar with many years ago. Both Adrian and Zhong Yan did not like to talk about their private matters in front of other people, so if they ever had anything to say to each other in a public space, Adrian could just bend down and speak by Zhong Yan¡¯s ear; but Zhong Yan could not reach Adrian, so if he wanted to say something, he had to give Adrian¡¯s clothes a tug and wait for him to lean down before speaking by his ear.


    This time, Adrian reacted to his actions as usual; but instead of moving his ear over, he came close to Zhong Yan¡¯s ear and spoke in a quiet yet cold voice. ¡°Listen up, pull my clothes one more time and I¡¯ll break your arms.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s hand immediately retracted into the coat. He whispered back to him, ¡°I just wanted to ask if you locked the car door.¡±


    ¡°I did not lock the door, but there is a lock on the driving system. There are guards all over the yard, so you better settle down, don¡¯t even think about trying to escape with the car or anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± argued Zhong Yan, though in vain. Adrian was not listening to him and was signaling to the guards instead to take him away.


    Zhong Yan thought that after bringing him such important information, that Adrian would lighten up a little with him; he never would have expected that not only was that not the case in the slightest, he was even very fierce to him.


    He averted his eyes to cover the look of disappointment in his eyes, and left with the guards.


    ¡°Commander¡­¡±


    Adrian put out a hand to stop what the officer was saying. ¡°I know what you want to say, the AI has been undergoing changes and is seeking greater control, so we should be abandoning the path to steady development and accelerate our plans, is that right?¡±


    He had hit the nail on the head, and the officer could hear the disapproval in his tone. He felt awkward as he said, ¡°Ye¡­Yes. The development plans we have planned beforehand were formed with the basis that the AI remains in a constant state, but nobody here could have expected him to change.¡±


    Another officer chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right. ¡®Butterfly¡¯ is now beginning to gather power autonomously. If he allows those powerful human followers of his to push those new policies forward, then his control of the Federation will reach new heights. If we continue as we are now, we will definitely be constrained and forced into a passive position.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we managed to get ahold of this news, it¡¯s not too late to start mapping things out now.¡±


    Adrian silently listened through the enthusiastic discussion of his officers as they planned out a countermeasure. Fayn asked, ¡°Commander, do you still have any doubts on the authenticity of this piece of information? If I may be so bold, the information that the Special Commissioner has just shown us is very hard to forge.¡±


    The other officers did not speak. Even if all the high-level positions in the Navi Military Command now consisted of Adrian¡¯s men, the adjutant was a person who had been following him since they were students after all, so their relationships were definitely closer. Take for example, when it came to that councilor who had just gone out not long ago, it was the adjutant alone who dared to say a word or two about him.


    ¡°I know, just¡­¡±


    Adrian stopped. After a while, he raised a hand to massage the bridge of his nose and said, ¡°What you¡¯ve all said is very reasonable, but we¡¯re not in such a rush that it has to be done within these few days. It¡¯s a very big matter, so wait for the confirmation from the intelligence office before starting any concrete plans. The information is genuine, but the source is too unreliable. No matter what, wait until our men have verified it before you do anything. You¡¯re all dismissed; Adjutant, you stay.¡±


    After all the officers left, Fayn frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? It¡¯s not like you to be this wary.¡±


    ¡°How long will it take the intelligence department to verify it?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°We¡¯ve just arranged it this afternoon. Something concerning the capital would take several days alone just to transmit information back and forth, I¡¯m afraid our agent in the capital is not in a high enough position. We might even have to contact ¡®Specimen¡¯. Well¡­if you want a more solid estimation, it will take more than just a few days.¡±


    Adrian pondered over it for a moment, and started slowly, ¡°Tell the intelligence department to look over something else¡­Check if there is any contact between Zhong Yan and Bard Pearson. It doesn¡¯t matter what form of contact it is.¡±


    Fayn was shocked and quickly asked. ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re still suspecting that this is a ruse?¡±


    ¡°His excuses can¡¯t convince me.¡± Adrian continued, ¡°Would he invest so much effort in surrendering to his enemy just to protect his position? I don¡¯t believe that this is really the only path he can use to keep himself up there, he has been active in the capital for more than seven years after all.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­Actually, all of us believe him.¡± Fayn expressed analytically, ¡°Even if he used his own networks to find a way to remain in his seat, things will still be tough for him in the future. When the structure changes, Pearson will definitely be above him. When that time comes, there¡¯s no way Pearson won¡¯t go after his head since that guy has been hanging around your grandfather. It can¡¯t be guaranteed he won¡¯t be the death of him one day either. So, he¡¯s better off jumping off the sinking ship and abandoning your grandfather to turn to us instead. If we win, he would have half of the credit, no? You said you wanted to check the relationship between him and Pearson¡­Are you suspecting that he may actually have switched over to Pearson¡¯s side? Then that¡¯s even more impossible. Would Pearson spend all this effort to set up a ploy just to let us know that the bastard has finally gone crazy? Wouldn¡¯t that be a joke?¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Adrian. Then, he put on a bitter smile. ¡°Why do you think I insisted for you to do the talks with him last time? I told you he¡¯s going to cloud my judgment, do you believe me now?¡±


    Fayn rolled his eyes. ¡°I believe it now. In the past, you¡¯d always think about all the good when it came to him like a brainless idiot, but now you¡¯ve gone the other extreme. It¡¯s all brainless conspiracies now. You better not eat steak or anything when you live together, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to think he was trying to assassinate you if he ever lifts his knife.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that extreme.¡± Adrian loosened up a little and began to joke, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking down on me too much? With his level of combat proficiency, I doubt he¡¯d be able to do me in even if I gave him a gun and fought him bare-handed.¡±


    Fayn gave him a playful punch and laughed, ¡°That¡¯s way over the top. I told you you still haven¡¯t come out of it, just look at how deep the psychological trauma was in your heart. You think he¡¯s lying to you no matter what just cause he lied to you once. Do you think that¡¯s necessary? Isn¡¯t it just a failed marriage proposal? It ain¡¯t nothing big! I lost my position of best man too, and I didn¡¯t say anything about it now, did I?¡±


    With a bang, something seemed to have fallen on the ground outside; the faces of the two changed. Adrian quickly rushed over and opened the door.


    The statuette that had been on display on the flower stand fell to the ground and rolled away. Zhong Yan was standing there with his face pale with shock, holding the flower stand in one hand, and his body swaying.


    Before Adrian could say anything, he asked both urgent and anxiously, ¡°What marriage proposal? What best man? I only heard the last sentence, what were you talking about?¡±

 Chapter 27 - Missed Opportunities

    Adrian did not answer him. He frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to go to the car¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw them come out in the car, so I came to look for you.¡± Zhong Yan quickly interrupted him, ¡°What were you talking about earlier? Who was proposing to whom?¡±


    ¡°Guards!¡± Adrian shouted.


    A young guard sprinted over from the corridor. Before waiting for him to salute him, Adrian barked a question to his face, ¡°What were you doing out there? How did someone this big slip in?!¡±


    The guard was dumbfounded. ¡°Zhong¡­The Special Commissioner said he was here to look for you. The meeting¡­Isn¡¯t the meeting over?¡±


    ¡°Who told you the meeting was over? Why would I be in there if the meeting was over?¡± Adrian burst out in anger. ¡°You let him inside just because he said he was here to look for me? Would you let him go into the data room too if he asked? If he overheard anything classified today¡ª¡±


    ¡°Adrian.¡± Fayn put a hand on Adrian¡¯s shoulder and stopped him from venting on the poor guard. ¡°Enough, he didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Everyone¡¯s left, so he thought the meeting ended. It¡¯s not like we were talking about classified information anyway.¡±


    As he said that, he waved his hand towards the guard, motioning for him to leave. The guard looked worriedly at Adrian, who had yet to calm down from his fury; when he saw no reaction from him, he quickly bowed and left.


    Zhong Yan was still standing at the side, watching Adrian in a panicky manner, but still persistently waiting for his answer.


    Adrian brushed Fayn¡¯s hand off his shoulder and said to him, ¡°You should go first.¡±


    This meant that he wanted to speak with Zhong Yan alone. With a spark of interest, Fayn said to him, ¡°Alright, you two have a good chat. I¡¯ll be going now.¡±


    After saying that, he glanced over at the snowy and fair hand that slipped out from beneath the coat, then at Adrian¡¯s brewing storm of an expression. He couldn¡¯t help himself from adding on in a whisper, ¡°Lay off a little. Don¡¯t cripple the guy, we¡¯re still counting on him.¡±


    Adrian glared at him and squeezed a few words out of the cracks of his teeth, ¡°I have my restraints, so get outta here.¡±


    Seeing that Fayn had left, Zhong Yan thought that Adrian was finally going to speak with him; but without saying anything, he started walking towards the parking lot.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Zhong Yan followed him and asked persistently, ¡°Were you talking about someone else earlier? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t eavesdrop on purpose. I really thought it was only you inside. I didn¡¯t notice that Suster was not out either. Who did he say he was going to be the best man for?¡±


    Adrian was walking in front as if he did not hear him at all. Very quickly, Zhong Yan was left in a gasping mess and could not speak any longer. Adrian was walking too fast, so his energy levels were plummeting. He tried to make Adrian slow down a little, but this time, Adrian gave no consideration for him. With the earlier warning he was given, he did not dare to pull on the man¡¯s clothes either. He could only break out into a jog every so often just to barely keep up with him.


    When they reached the car, Adrian opened the door on the passenger side; without waiting for Zhong Yan, who had just rushed over, to say anything, he stuffed him in in one violent motion before wandering over to the driver¡¯s seat. He booted up the driving system and started the car in full speed.


    Zhong Yan looked at his stiff profile. His heart was leaping madly into an abyss.


    Adrian would never get this angry just because he heard an unimportant piece of gossip. This reaction practically confirmed it for Zhong Yan; the person with the ¡°failed marriage proposal¡± mentioned by Suster was Adrian.


    Who did Adrian fail to propose to? How could that be possible! This man had such a strong physique and handsome face, commanding powerful troops at his fingertips with a resounding name; even if you pushed all of these aside, Zhong Yan had still seen what a gentle person Adrian could be.


    Why would anyone reject such a perfect person? Clearly¡­Clearly, for the sake of maintaining his friendship with Adrian, he had spent all of his efforts just to end up in that tragic abandonment of seven years; but someone was actually able to obtain Adrian¡¯s precious and loyal heart?


    Zhong Yan could not describe the feeling in his heart. He tried so desperately to protect that pool of water in his own palms, but he could only watch with his eyes wide as the water flowed through his fingertips, while someone had managed to receive a great ocean that would never dry up.


    How was it possible¡­Zhong Yan tried to make sense of it in his chaotic mind. How could anyone deserve to receive Adrian¡¯s heart?


    When they were still in school, it was their golden years, where they were just entering the age of twenty. Even though Adrian was deviant in his political tendencies at the time, there were still many men and women who professed their love to him without a care for that quality. Zhong Yan never had any special feelings for those people; he knew that Adrian would refuse. In his opinion, those people were far from being worthy of Adrian.


    Nobody could ever be worthy of Adrian, but Suster was telling Adrian ¡°wasn¡¯t it just a failed marriage proposal?¡±.


    Who was it? What kind of person¡­


    Zhong Yan had to admit that the second he heard that sentence, a crazy, almost dreamlike guess had passed through his head.


    No, it was not a guess. It was an idea that came from his intuitiveness, but he did not dare to touch on it. He tried his best to ignore it.


    It was impossible; if it was true, he would definitely fall into an abyss of remorse.


    ¡­¡­


    Adrian¡¯s silence continued until they arrived at Adrian¡¯s private home.


    The full name of Navi¡¯s primary star was Naviland, or Navi for short, and the Navi System was named accordingly. This was the largest planet in the Navi System. Based solely on the surface area of the planet, it was slightly larger than the capital. However, unlike the Capital where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, Navi was a planet under military management where every member of society was an admitted soldier. The Navi Military Command¡¯s headquarters was located here, and outsiders were prohibited from landing on the planet. Since the population density was so low, many places were still uninhabited.


    Adrian¡¯s private home was just away from the bustle of the main population. Adrian had his eyes set on this multi-storey home that had a vast grassland in its backyard the moment he set eyes on it, but he had very few opportunities to actually stay in this home in. Most of the time, he would just be sleeping at headquarters.


    However, Zhong Yan could hardly care about being curious as to why Adrian¡¯s private home looked like a newly-renovated model home ready for sale; it was barely lived in at all. He took off Adrian¡¯s coat and hung it up before quickly rushing over to stop Adrian who was prepared to abandon him there.


    ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Adrian gave off a chilling aura, but Zhong Yan was unwilling to move. He reached out to grab his clothes, which was actually his own jacket and threw him onto the sofa.


    When Zhong Yan saw that he was about to leave, he threw all his thoughts aside and pounced over, latching onto Adrian¡¯s clothes.


    This move had completely detonated the landmine of anger Adrian had been suppressing. He turned around and pushed Zhong Yan abruptly to the wall. Zhong Yan felt the strong impact of his back hitting the wall, but before he could even process the pain, Adrian¡¯s body closed in, full of oppressive energy. He grabbed hold of his chin and lifted it, forcefully lifting his head up to meet his eyes.


    ¡°Did you hear a damn thing I said? Did you forget what I told you this afternoon? Pull on my clothes one more time and I¡¯ll have your arms.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡­it doesn¡¯t matter¡­just take them.¡± That horrifying conjecture was torturing Zhong Yan to the point of madness; he had to confirm it immediately. He could not wait even a second longer. He was practically begging him at this point. ¡°My hands¡­just take them, just tell me what you two were talking about. Who did you propose to? Tell me, please, I beg you¡­¡±


    Adrian sneered at him. ¡°You couldn¡¯t guess? With how agitated you look, I¡¯m guessing you couldn¡¯t.¡±


    Sirens were blaring in Zhong Yan¡¯s mind. He held his last thread of hope and asked in a quiet whisper, ¡°Is¡­Is it someone from the military command? You¡¯ve fallen for someone in these years, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Adrian enunciated with cruelty, ¡°It¡¯s not from these recent years, it was eight years ago. I fell in love with a liar. It¡¯s the dumbest thing I¡¯ve done my entire life, and it¡¯ll be a lesson I¡¯ll never forget for the rest of it. Fortunately, I hadn¡¯t had the time to propose in the end before the liar could stop himself from revealing his true self. At least I got away.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s mind went blank. He could see Adrian¡¯s silver eyes so close to his, and that bone-chilling icy gaze pierced straight into the softest corner of his heart, stirring up his flesh and blood into a mess, in a painful agony that made him wish he was dead.


    Impossible, it was impossible! What did he¡­what did he do¡­what did he miss out on¡­?


    Zhong Yan asked with a shaky voice, ¡°When was it¡­When did you plan to¡­Was it after graduation?¡±


    ¡°During the graduation ceremony,¡± he told him. These words were like a dagger that had been pierced deep into his wound; and now, he was pulling it out himself and using it as a weapon against him. His own wounds were also torn apart, with fresh blood still gushing out of it. ¡°On that day, I had the ring in my uniform¡¯s pocket. The party poppers were with Fayn. I was waiting right below the steps of the stage. I was going to kneel when you came down from the stage after refusing the career proposal and asked you whether you would be willing to stay with me for the rest of your life.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes were red. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? Why didn¡¯t you¡­¡±


    Adrian responded fiercely, ¡°Earlier? Don¡¯t tell me you couldn¡¯t tell at all, Zhong Yan! When have I ever treated anyone as well as I have you?¡±


    ¡°I thought we were friends¡­¡± Zhong Yan muttered as a burning tears started to roll down from his eyes. ¡°I thought we were the best of friends¡­¡±


    ¡°Friends? What kind of person would, for two whole years, spend so much effort to wash their friend¡¯s clothes, cook for them, take care of their meals and daily necessities without a single word of complaint? You¡¯ve been misleading me deliberately, you gave me the illusion that it was not unrequited love, you gave me the illusion that I only had to get past that paper-this barrier to achieve the greatest happiness of my life!¡±


    Friends¡­couldn¡¯t friends be like that?¡± There was not a single hint of doubt in Zhong Yan¡¯s words. ¡°I just wanted to treat you better, I wanted to be better to you than your other friends, so you wouldn¡¯t not want me anymore¡­I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know friends couldn¡¯t be like that, nobody ever taught me¡­¡±


    Adrian snapped coldly, ¡°Do you think that I¡¯d believe you if you started acting pitiful now?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face was filled with his tears. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Adrian¡¯s lapel. He looked deep into those silvery eyes and said, ¡°Listen up, I¡¯ll admit you hate me, but there¡¯s one thing! In all my life, I¡¯ve spoken countless lies. For the sake of coming out on top, I lied to the auntie in the orphanage, I lied to the inspector, I lied to my teachers and my schoolmates; when I grew up, I lied to my colleagues, I lied to the media, I lied to everyone in this world, but I¡¯ve never ever told a single lie to you, Adrian Yate!¡±

 Chapter 28 - The Pond in the Backyard

    ¡°Let me remind you,¡± started Adrian, unmoved, ¡°For more than a dozen times during school, when you were so sick you couldn¡¯t go to class, you still told me you were ¡®fine¡¯. Just half a month ago you had a fever that went up to 39 degrees, but do you remember what you told me?¡±


    Zhong Yan was rarely fierce with his words, but unfortunately, the waves fell after the initial outbreak. He wiped the tears off his own face and said in a quiet voice, ¡°You know I¡¯m not talking about that. I¡¯m talking about lying with malicious intent. I know there are many things, and many of my own ideas that I never told you, but I never wanted to use you¡­it¡¯s not like what you¡¯re making it out to be, I wasn¡¯t misleading you, nor was I trying to pretend.¡±


    Saying that, he averted his gaze downwards, and let out a bitter laugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to explain it, and I thought you would not believe me if I did¡­I¡¯ve never had friends, you¡¯re the first peer I had who allowed me to call out your name. Then, when our campuses were separated in our second year, all the students from the military school had left, but you said you weren¡¯t going anywhere, that you¡¯d rather spend an extra hour on the road. Since then, I¡¯ve been careful every day of my life. I had to think about whether I would make you upset before I said every word, but at the same time, I was so afraid. I was afraid one day you¡¯d find a better friend, or maybe I¡¯d make you unhappy somehow, and you¡¯d leave. So, I did laundry, I cooked, I did everything to please you so you wouldn¡¯t leave. I didn¡¯t know what else to do, I¡­I didn¡¯t realize¡­I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize¡­¡±


    Adrian loosened his restraint on Zhong Yan and looked at him with a complicated expression for a moment. For the first time, that tit-for-tat fury was gone. ¡°You didn¡¯t feel a single thing at all? I¡¯m not a good-tempered person, but in those three years, I¡¯ve never once shown my anger to you.¡±


    ¡°I thought you had a very good temper, and I thought you were the same with your friends too.¡± But now he knew that it was his privilege. This wasn¡¯t funny to Zhong Yan at all, it just made him want to cry. ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to think about it at all. I was happy as long as you would always be my friend, and never get sick of me, but if I knew¡­if I knew earlier¡­¡±


    ¡°If you knew, would you have rejected me?¡±


    Zhong Yan denied it. ¡°How could I reject you?¡±


    Adrian questioned him, ¡°Then would you have refused ¡®Butterfly¡¯ in the end?¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his eyes to confront Adrian¡¯s gaze. You could say that he may have been weak in the past, but now, on this planet without artificial intelligence, they were in a place without outsiders. It was a private residence with only the two of them. After seven years, this was the first time they had frankly confronted each other with their own wounds; even a warrior with a firm heart like Adrian could not help but ask such a question.


    There was an obvious look of expectation in his eyes; right now, all he had to tell him was¡­Yes.


    Yes, if I had one more chance, it would have been a perfect ending; just like that, he could push the responsibility on all the misunderstandings, and on fate itself. Those times had passed anyway. Nobody could change what has happened in the past; with one easy reply, he could heal the hate and disappointment; then maybe¡­maybe if he was lucky enough, he could even revive that thread of fate.


    So why not?


    You only needed to nod.


    For a long time, Zhong Yan was silent. But in the end, he said, ¡°Those are two different things.¡±


    Just like in their third year, he could have told Adrian that for the sake of saving the country in this roundabout way, he was going to devote himself to politics. He could hardly count how many times he had told such a lie growing up. It was effective. It was perfect; but he wanted to keep Adrian, so he did not say those words to him.


    Right now, he was not willing to go against his own heart to verify his assumptions. He did not want to lie to him.


    ¡°If I realized it early enough, I would¡¯ve replanned my future for you. But if I had only known in the last few months¡­¡± Zhong Yan shut his eyes. ¡°If I only found out at the end, I would at least have told you in advance that I¡¯ve already made my plans. I won¡¯t sacrifice myself with you to the human renaissance movement. But If I would have known, I definitely would not let you¡­¡±


    He could not go on. In the past years, he had always resented how Adrian had never given him any chance of reconciliation after the incident, nor could he understand why Adrian had so much hate and anger towards him.


    But now, he knew.


    Whenever he recalled how, in that year, Adrian had watched him as he went up that stage with such joy in his eyes; then, with those feelings, he left the hall and returned to the dormitory where they had lived for three years. Zhong Yan could feel nothing but pain, to the point where he was suffocating; countless needles were pricking his heart, and each of those needles shared the same name of regret.


    Regretful at knowing that he had reached the ocean, but had not realized it. Just for the sake of retaining that small pool of water in his hands, he had instead hurt the person he cherished the most in such a cruel way.


    Adrian took a step back. He regretted it the instant those words came out of his mouth, but when Zhong Yan told him he would not reject him, a fantasy sprung up in his heart. He wondered if there never had been such a huge gap between them, that it was all just a mistake.


    But Zhong Yan told him with his own mouth, his dreams were just mere dreams.


    He did not continue his anger and spoke only in coldness. ¡°As expected of you. I was just overthinking things, I really thought you liked me too.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t not like you! How could I not like you?¡± said Zhong Yan, anxious. ¡°I¡¯ve always been¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t, stop right there.¡± Adrian raised a hand to stop him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know your thoughts right now at all. Do you think that after going through all of that, that I would still continue liking you like a fool?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I didn¡¯t know back then, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll learn, I will, can we¡­¡±


    He was both anxious and felt lowly, to the point where he did not have the courage to speak his request. He whispered his pleading in an incoherent mutter, expecting a miracle to happen, and give him a chance to make up for what he had lost.


    But Adrian firmly refused him. ¡°No. Zhong Yan, I¡¯m no longer¡ªFor a long time, I have not wanted to be married to you.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him, stunned.


    ¡°Enough, let¡¯s end this here.¡± Adrian evaded Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes. That broken-hearted gaze made him feel very uncomfortable, even the pleasure of revenge was gone. ¡°I¡¯m no longer in any position to be thinking about romance either. Have you sent your report to the council?¡±


    Zhong Yan shut his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, when he opened his eyes once more, its clarity returned, leaving behind only the tear stains on his face.


    ¡°I did. We encountered some space pirates outside of Navi System, and we entered into physical combat after the space pirates entered our ship. The injuries Bayer received were too grave, so he fell unconscious. My injuries were lighter, but I still needed some time to recuperate. As for the regional assessment, it can only be postponed.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°Understood. Send me a copy of the report, I will tell the rest to match the information.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°The bedrooms upstairs are empty, pick one to stay in. I will lock the main door, and there is an alarm in the outer circle of the yard. Right now, just stay inside your room until our marriage contract is dissolved. I will arrange for you to leave Navi after that.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t have the money.¡± Zhong Yan dropped his head. ¡°I can¡¯t shell out three hundred and sixty thousand in one go, but is it alright if I start to save up now, and pay you in installments? Just hold on for a while, I¡¯ll pay you back the money¡­¡±


    His tone did not sound fake, but Adrian was full of doubts. In his opinion, four hundred thousand was worth practically nothing. From the very beginning, it was purely because he could not swallow down his anger that he wanted to make Zhong Yan pay up just to disgust him. How could he really be unable to pay?


    Indeed, if you asked a normal young person in his twenties to pull out four hundred thousand in one breath, it would be a hard one to force on them. But for someone with a position as high as Adrian, this amount was just a slight change in the numbers of his bank account. He always thought that Zhong Yan would be much wealthier than he was.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your money?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Everyone says you¡¯re unscrupulous, but that¡¯s not true as well, or is it?¡±


    ¡°Taking this path just makes it easier for others to avert their gaze, it¡¯s false.¡± Zhong Yan continued on with unease, ¡°But if there¡¯s income¡­there would naturally be expenditures.¡±


    He did not seem as if he was going to elaborate, but Adrian did not have any interest in listening on either. ¡°Well, alright. Anyway, you sort it out yourself before the month ends. I still have work at headquarters, so I¡¯ll be going. I¡¯ve ordered dinner, your food will be sent to the receiving platform at the window by drone.¡±


    ¡°Are you not coming back to eat?¡± Zhong Yan followed behind him.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, will you be coming back to sleep tonight?¡±


    ¡°This is my house.¡± Adrian put on the military coat Zhong Yan had taken off at the door. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business whether I come back or not, you¡¯re overstepping it. Don¡¯t follow me, you do not have access to enter the main door. Do you feel like staying out in the yard the whole night?¡±


    Zhong Yan stopped awkwardly by the door. ¡°That¡¯s not it, I was just asking. Wa¡­Wait!¡±


    Adrian looked impatient to his endless barrage of questions. Zhong Yan quickly spoke up. ¡°One last thing¡ªThat ring¡­What happened to it?¡±


    ¡°I threw it.¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly asked, ¡°Where did you throw it?¡±


    ¡°And why are you asking me that for?¡± Adrian said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯d rather chuck it than let you have it.¡±


    ¡°Where did you throw it?¡± Zhong Yan was persistent.


    ¡°In the pond in the backyard.¡± Adrian was at his limits. ¡°Can I go now, oh great Councilor?¡±


    At this time, he would not have known the consequences of his casual words; but if he knew, he would never have said such a thing.


    ¡­¡­


    A few hours later, deep into the night, Adrian returned to his private home.


    Too many things happened today. It was actually quite rare for him to be this busy. But after thinking about it, and after pacing around his own bedroom at headquarters, he still decided to drive home at night.


    In the early morning, at the beginnings of sunrise, the multi-story building was quiet. All of the furniture was in its own place, with no private possessions in sight, revealing the icy atmosphere of abandonment. But right now, someone was clearly staying inside. Adrian frowned at the seats at the dining table; they did not look to have been moved at all. Where did Zhong Yan eat?


    He turned subconsciously to the platform near the window¡ªThe meal he ordered was placed neatly there, even the packaging was not removed.


    Adrian knocked on all the few doors of the second floor and was ready to give the other man a talking to about the severe impact of wasting food, but nobody answered.


    Was he asleep? Zhong Yan had always been a light sleeper, it was impossible for him not to have heard the knock on the door. On the way, Adrian had opened all the doors¡ªThe were all empty.


    Was he not in the rooms? He did not receive any alarm notifications, so he could not have left the yard; but he did not see anyone when he came in from the front yard¡­


    Adrian rushed downstairs. The door to the backyard was locked, but the window next to it was open. He remembered very clearly that those double-windows were closed in the beginning.


    It was so early in the morning, what was Zhong Yan doing in the backyard?


    Adrian recalled the sentence he had left him with before leaving home, and his face suddenly changed. He opened the door and rushed out.


    The backyard of his villa was very large, and after passing through the thicket that was grown as shade from the sunlight, there was an open grassland with a small artificial pond on one side.


    From far away, Adrian could see a man by the pond.


    Zhong Yan was sitting there, his body wet and shoes by the shore. The cold winter winds were blowing softly by, and the light sports jacket was stuck to his body. He could not control the trembling of his body, but he still insisted on going into the water. He did not know how many times he had gone down there, but this time, he heard a thundering noise not far behind him. ¡°Zhong Yan! No!¡±


    Why did Adrian come back? Zhong Yan was surprised. He turned around in a hurry but did not expect to take a wrong step, and without being able to steady himself, he fell into the water. The icy cold water of the pond seeped into his nose cavity, and painfully he swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Gradually, his languish body was sinking.


    His consciousness was fading far away. All he could hear was the sound of the water splashing. Following that, a pair of warm and powerful arms circled around him in the water, and with him in hand, they returned to the mortal realm.

 Chapter 29 - High Fever

    Zhong Yan felt a raging pain in his chest, but he could not open his eyes. A darkness was pressing heavily down on him. At this moment, someone peeled his mouth open, squeezed his nose, and a warm pair of soft buds were printed onto his cool lips. Following that, breaths of life were passed continuously into him. (note)


    ¡°Cough¡­ cough cough¡­¡± Zhong Yan started to cough, and his sunken chest had once again started to heave up and down violently. Adrian breathed a sigh of relief and supported him up a little to help him cough out the water he swallowed.


    When his consciousness fully returned to his body, the intense cold finally registered. Before Zhong Yan could even think about what he was doing, he had subconsciously leaned towards the warmth at his side. When Adrian saw him curling up entirely into his embrace, he lifted him up in his arms and headed towards the house in large strides.


    ¡°So¡­Sorry.¡± Zhong Yan trembled in his arms. With his teeth chattering, the words that came from his mouth were choppy. ¡°I d-didn¡¯t want t-to trouble y-you. I thought y-you¡­w-weren¡¯t coming h-home t-today¡­¡±


    ¡°So you jumped into a pond in the middle of winter just because I¡¯m not coming back?!¡± Adrian thought of himself as someone with great self-control, but he was never able to suppress the fire anytime he was met with anything relating to Zhong Yan. ¡°You jumped into the water this time, but what am I going to expect the next time I come home? Are you going to jump off the building? Then you better not live upstairs, the bedroom on the first floor will be yours from now on.¡±


    There was only a single bedroom on the first floor. Most of the functional areas of the house, such as the kitchen and whatnot were on the first floor. Occasionally, when Adrian did not feel like getting himself up and down the stairs when he came home, he would just sleep in that room to save trouble. Before he told Zhong Yan this, that room could barely be described as his bedroom.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s black hair was soaked. Feebly, his dripping head was resting against Adrian¡¯s similarly wet chest, and he said his compliance in a quiet voice, ¡°Alright¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    When Zhong Yan and Adrian butted heads in their vocal arguments, Adrian would always spit out the most vicious words he could think of to attack him; but now, when he saw how obedient he was, Adrian swallowed down those words, and was left unable to say a single thing.


    Even if he really wanted to pursue the matter, he couldn¡¯t because he knew that it was his fault Zhong Yan fell in.


    Looking back now, why would Zhong Yan go to that pond when he was not at home¡­?


    Adrian carried him into the bathroom with a dark expression on his face. He quickly activated some settings on the terminal at the door, and the bathtub Zhong Yan was sitting in quickly filled with warm water at a suitably comfortable temperature. Steam started to gather from the water, and gradually soothed his trembling.


    Seeing that he had recovered, Adrian left him to take a bath by himself before heading into the upstairs bathroom for a brisk shower. Then, he began looking for emergency kits around the house.


    He knew the state of Zhong Yan¡¯s terrible physical condition too well. He would definitely catch a fever in a while. Even though the Supreme Institution, located on the Institution Star, was said to have a simulated autonomous weather system, they had still chosen to stimulate the friendliest and most gentle climates. Even so, Adrian had still ordered a copy of the weather forecast produced by the School of Sciences. As long as the wind was breezy enough that day to shake a blade of grass, he would have to pile Zhong Yan up with clothes and made him take supplements as if he were preparing for a dangerous battle. For those three years, no matter how he tried to shield him against nature, Zhong Yan would still frequently catch a fever. Adrian would always lament, what kind of growth process did a person have to go through to have such a weak immune system?


    But now he at least managed to get a peep at the tip of the iceberg. Since he was small, he would only consume a large amount of carbohydrates. It was almost pitiful the amount of protein and vitamins he lacked. When he grew up, he finally had the chance to enjoy high-quality food and improve his diet, but he just had to be limited by the eating habits he had developed since he was young. He had a small appetite, so he could only eat half the amount his peers could. It would be strange if he could get stronger in such a way.


    Adrian managed to find an emergency kit in the study. Fortunately, he had just changed out the medicines in the box just a few months ago during the annual house inspection, so they were still good.


    ¡­¡­


    When Zhong Yan walked into the first-floor bedroom with a clean bathrobe wrapped around himself, he could see that Adrian was already seated inside. There was a pile of pills and disposable injections laid out on the table in front of him.


    ¡°Get under the blanket.¡± Adrian gave him a concise order.


    As soon as he said that, he heard the doubtful voice of a man from the loudspeaker of his terminal. ¡°¡­What?¡±


    ¡°Not you. Is there anything else I can use? I just saw a box for similar symptoms¡­¡±


    ¡°The ones I mentioned earlier are already at a large enough dose, Commander.¡±


    Zhong Yan crawled into the blankets and finally realized who the familiar voice of the man belonged to¡ªIt was the Chief Medical Officer of the Navi Military Command, Wei Lan.


    It was currently dawn, so he must have been woken up from his sleep by Adrian¡¯s call, but his voice sounded as clear and calm as ever. ¡°Please do not increase the dosage, too much of it can easily cause strong side effects. Also, please do not try to administer similar drugs on your own. Some of them will conflict with each other and affect the efficacy.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Adrian put down the box of pills in his hands with reluctance. ¡°I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s anything else.¡±


    When Zhong Yan saw him hang up, he asked slowly, ¡°Are you giving me preventive medicine?¡±


    ¡°What else?¡± responded Adrian in a grunt. He went over to pull up Zhong Yan¡¯s blanket before tucking in the corners, making sure he was completely wrapped up, leaving only the upper half of his head exposed. ¡°Wait here, and don¡¯t move. I¡¯m going to get you water for the medicine.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t find it,¡± said Zhong Yan without any context.


    His voice was caught in the blanket and came out muffled. Adrian asked subconsciously, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The ring¡­I couldn¡¯t find it,¡± said Zhong Yan with disappointment. ¡°When did you throw it? I thought¡­the water wasn¡¯t changed for simulated ponds like that. I searched every corner but it wasn¡¯t there. Was the water changed because of a failed quality check¡­¡±


    His voice gradually turned softer, perhaps due to the fact that he saw the look of displeasure on Adrian¡¯s face. So, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to steal your ring, I just wanted to take a look, just to see what it looked like¡­I¡¯m sorry, please don¡¯t be angry¡­¡±


    When they reunited at their school half a month ago, Zhong Yao had no intentions at all to apologize, but he said many apologies today. However, Adrian still did not achieve any sense of victory.


    Telling him he threw the ring in the pond was only a casual remark, he never thought that Zhong Yan would actually believe him. He forgot the window could also lead to the backyard, and most importantly, he really underestimated¡­how important the matter was in Zhong Yan¡¯s heart. Zhong Yan had never once stopped to wonder whether the words he left before rushing to work were actually true or false, but even if it had the slightest bit of a possibility, he would still throw everything away and put his mind to finding it.


    An uncontrollable sense of pain washed over Adrian¡¯s heart. It did not sting too much, but it was painful enough that it was hard to ignore.


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡± Adrian tried his best to remain calm. ¡°Stop thinking nonsense, I¡¯ll go get water.¡±


    After watching Zhong Yan swallow down all the medicines without a single word, Adrian pulled the chair from the table and sat beside the bed. Zhong Yan looked at him in confusion.


    Quite uneasily, Adrian tried to speak. ¡°I¡¯ll watch you tonight. Sleep.¡±


    Many years ago, whenever Zhong Yan was badly ill, it was always Adrian who watched over him through the night.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± The powerful sedative ingredients quickly started to take effect. Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes were half-lidded, and he was almost about to sink into dreamland as he muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine¡­You still¡­have class tomorrow¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Even after being administered such a large amount of preventive medicine, Zhong Yan still woke up with a high fever the next morning.


    The blanket had already been spread out from his tossing around last night. Adrian kept putting his limbs back into the blanket, but Zhong Yan¡¯s body temperature was too high, and would always try to tear the blanket away in discomfort while he was still sleeping. In the end, Adrian could only choose to roll him up in the blanket. He sat down on the bed and together with the blanket, he carried him over and held him in his arms. Only then did he free one of his hands to operate his terminal.


    Zhong Yan wiggled uncomfortably in his arms and muttered, ¡°My¡­My¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Adrian asked, worried that he was getting thirsty. He pulled him closer and put his ear to his lips, but all he could hear was Zhong Yan muttering incoherently, ¡°¡­I had¡­my Ocean¡­can¡¯t find it..it¡¯s gone¡­¡±


    What ocean? Adrian was puzzled but marked it off as just sleep talk. Once again, he dialed Wei Lan¡¯s twenty-four-hour work line.


    ¡°Commander, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Lan picked up and asked before Adrian could even speak. ¡°Didn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°I knew conventional drugs wouldn¡¯t work.¡± Adrian said, ¡°Should I wake him up now for the second dosage of medicine?¡±


    ¡°How could it not work? That shouldn¡¯t be. It¡¯s very normal to catch a cold from falling into water, there¡¯s no need for any special medicine.¡± Wei Lan had been in the military for many years, and pulled countless lives in battle back from the hands of death; to think he would make a mistake for a tiny cold surprised him. ¡°How bad is it?¡±


    ¡°His fever is close to forty degrees, and he is still unconscious. Based on my experience, if he isn¡¯t quickly administered with medicine that¡¯s efficable enough, it will soon deteriorate into severe viral influenza, as well as a variety of other complications,¡± said Adrian, speaking helplessly as if he had turned into a doctor from the many years of dealing with his illnesses. Then, he heard a mutter from the one in his arms, and he added. ¡°Oh right, he¡¯s also speaking nonsense in his dreams, and I¡¯ve never seen this in the past. Is it serious?¡±


    Wei Lan said, ¡°I have no surgeries today, I¡¯ll come over during the day. You can¡¯t solve the problem just by using medicine alone.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then,¡± said Adrian. After a quick pause, he stopped Wei Lan from hanging up, ¡°Wait, are you coming over from headquarters?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have to go to the medical office in the morning first.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Adrian took a look at the person in his arms; Zhong Yan was frowning lightly and was expressing a very uneasy look from his dreams. He rested his head on Adrian¡¯s chest, and his soft black hair was now messy from his sweat.


    If anyone had to be blamed for the matter, it would be him. Adrian closed his eyes, and told him, ¡°When you come, bring a cake with you from the headquarters¡¯ dining hall. Pick a smaller one, it¡¯s for one person, don¡¯t get a big one.¡±


    Even Wei Lan, whose expression would not change even if Mt. Everest crumbled in front of him was stunned because of this irrelevant request; but he¡¯s the Chief Medical Officer after all, so he calmly accepted the order and even asked, ¡°Are there any specific requirements on the type?¡±


    Adrian conveyed to him his many years of experience in buying cakes for Zhong Yan. ¡°Any type is fine, just tell the waiter to recommend you something super sweet, the sweeter the better.¡±


    Note: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed alternately with chest compressions and artificial respiration, do not proceed blindly with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, it is required here for the plot, please do not imitate.

 Chapter 30 - Winter Special Sweethearts Exclusive Heart Shaped Chocolate Cake, Small

    Zhong Yan woke up groggily and opened his eyes to see the unfamiliar ceiling. For a while, he was dazed, but he quickly remembered his current situation after a few seconds.


    The blanket slid down his body as he sat up. His head felt heavy but his legs were numb, and his whole body felt hot, but he did not seem to have developed any other symptoms. Perhaps the medicine he took last night was effective? Thinking about it, Zhong Yan was quite surprised. When Adrian comes back tonight, he definitely had to ask what medicine it was he took.


    Frankly¡­Zhong Yan could vaguely feel that he had been woken up once in the morning and was given another dosage of medicine. Someone had held him gently in their arms, but he was so tired he could not open his eyes, so that person had to feed him the medicine. Then, the person fed him some liquid food before wrapping him up in his embrace once more, allowing him to sleep.


    ¡­How could he have such an unrealistic dream? Zhong Yan laughed bitterly to himself. He really was possessed.


    The sky was very bright at this moment, it seemed to be noon. He touched his wrist habitually¡ªit was bare.


    Right, he took off his terminal at the pond before getting into the water yesterday.


    Zhong Yan immediately prepared to head over to get it, but just as he got off the bed, someone opened the door.


    ¡°What are you getting up for?¡± Adrian came in with a meal tray. ¡°Lay back down.¡±


    Zhong Yan asked in amazement, ¡°Are¡­are you not going to headquarters today?¡±


    ¡°Who knows what else you¡¯re gonna do if I go? I¡¯m worried I¡¯d find you tearing down my house when I come back.¡± Though he said so, no hint of anger could be heard from his tone.


    Zhong Yan was dumbfounded as he looked at him, and was deeply suspicious of whether his mind had shorted out from the fever. However, he could not resist the temptation of this fantasy, and carefully asked, ¡°Did you feed me this morning?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only two people in this house. If not me, who else did you think it was? A cleaning robot?¡± Adrian put the tray down on his pillow. Before Zhong Yan mentioned it, he had not realized it, but now he did. He was furious when he asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you eat the dinner I ordered yesterday?¡±


    After finding out about that matter yesterday, his stomach was churning. How could he have any appetite left to eat? Zhong Yan dropped his head and apologized, ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    There it was again. Adrian could feel his throat clogging up with anger as he looked at him irritably. Since yesterday, it was as if this person would comply and apologize for all the accusations he had against him, and he did not know why, but Adrian would rather have him argue back to him.


    He skipped the matter and asked, ¡°What were you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°My terminal, I left it at the edge of the pond yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it. Eat your lunch first.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s heart jumped, and he quietly said, ¡°No need, I still have to get out to shower anyway. I can go myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± said Adrian. ¡°You go shower, and I¡¯ll get your terminal.¡±


    ¡°No, I really don¡¯t want to trouble you. You don¡¯t know where I put it.¡±


    ¡°You can just tell me where you left it.¡± Adrian observed his seemingly normal expression with suspicion. ¡°What¡¯re you so nervous for? It¡¯s not like I know the password to your terminal.¡±


    It seemed like Adrian was determined not to let him out into the backyard. Zhong Yan confessed, ¡°I¡¯m not nervous¡­I left them next to my shoes.¡±


    That thing was so small, Adrian probably would not notice¡­right?


    Contrary to Zhong Yan¡¯s silent prayers, Adrian saw the two small shining little objects right beside the mass-produced wristband terminal at a glance.


    Adrian picked them up in confusion, and only realized upon closer inspection that they were a pair of cufflinks.


    A pair of clear, silver, square-shaped crystal cufflinks.


    Right¡­that old woman gave Zhong Yan a pair of cufflinks in White Aegis. He knew that, but he never paid attention to it. He had taken a glance of that small stall at the time. They were all hand-made accessories made of artificial crystals with many cufflinks among them. At that time, he had thought it was Zhong Yan¡¯s handsome appearance that had garnered the fancy of the old woman, so she had given him a small gift.


    Many years ago, Zhong Yan had once given him a tie clip embedded with white crystals. With much regret, he told him he could not find any silver crystals, so he could only buy a white one.


    ¡°How could there be any natural silver crystals?¡± Adrian chuffed at the time.


    ¡°There weren¡¯t any artificial ones either. I saw one of them labeled silver, but it looked gray and dull,¡± said Zhong Yan, upset. ¡°How could they call that silver? That¡¯s gray. Silver should be translucent, not dull, like your eyes.¡±


    Zhong Yan had always been obsessed with finding accessories that matched Adrian¡¯s irises, but the Institution Star¡¯s shops were limited after all. Even when they graduated, Zhong Yan still could not find the perfect silver he had in mind.


    He never thought that after so many years have passed, he would finally find the one thing he had always been dreaming of but could never find in little stall on a small remote planet like that; They were silver crystals that were in the same exact shade as Adrian¡¯s eyes.


    Adrian was still as he stared at the cufflinks in his hand for a few seconds. Then, he gathered his fingers and held them tightly in the palm of his hands, completely disregarding whether the corners dug into his palm or not.


    ¡­¡­


    Zhong Yan washed himself up absentmindedly and happened to see Adrian who had retrieved his shoes and terminal from the backyard just as he left the bathroom.


    ¡°Have you eaten lunch?¡± Zhong Yan took the terminal and put it on. As he did, he observed Adrian¡¯s expression with a guilty conscience.


    ¡°I just ate,¡± said Adrian with his usual expression.


    Zhong Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; but then he heard him say, ¡°I¡¯ll accept the cufflinks.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s face was flushed red in an instant from embarrassment. This gift was worth so little he could not bring himself to give it to him, so he was going to keep it himself as a memento; he never thought it would be discovered. On the other hand, he was anxious that Adrian would really put cheap stall goods like that on and lose face. He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not worth much, don¡¯t wear it, people will laugh at you if they see it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see if there¡¯s a single person in the entire Federation who dares to laugh at me,¡± Adrian spoke understatedly, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to fix him up so he¡¯ll never be able to laugh for the rest of his life.¡±


    Zhong Yan wanted to urge him again, but the doorbell rang.


    It was Wei Lan. Adrian opened the door with his authorization, and suddenly remembered what he had told him to do. He was just about to drive Zhong Yan back into his room, but it was too late.


    As soon as Wei Lan entered the door, Zhong Yan¡¯s sharp eyes caught onto that small little cake box in his hands.


    ¡°Medical Officer, you shouldn¡¯t have,¡± Adrian quickly put in the first word. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to bring gifts, how kind of you, just leave it on the table. The patient is right¡ª¡±


    If Fayn was here, he would have been able to understand what he meant at hello, and cooperated with him in the play.


    Unfortunately, this is Wei Lan.


    Not only did the medical officer have no care for gossip, everything he knew about the pair was limited to the headlines in the news; moreover, he never knew how to read the atmosphere.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to bring it?¡± He asked with great doubt. ¡°You even told me the sweeter the better. Did you forget?¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡± Damn me then.


    When he saw him remain silent, Wei Lan seemed to have figured something out and said vigilantly, ¡°This ¡®Winter Special Sweethearts Exclusive Heart-shaped Chocolate Cake, Small¡± is very expensive. You¡¯re not going to make me pay for it, are you? This isn¡¯t a gift, it was clearly you who¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll transfer it to you right now!¡± said Adrian with a hand on his forehead. He kept reminding himself, this was a medical officer, he needed him to save lives, he could not hit him.


    Zhong Yan seemed calm on the surface, but his eyes were brighter than usual. Adrian met those eyes of his which joy could not be concealed, and said with unease, ¡°This cake is¡­in exchange for your cufflinks. Now we¡¯re even.¡±


    However, it was obvious that he had only discovered the cufflinks a few minutes ago, but Zhong Yan was tactful and did not say anything about it. With great anticipation, he asked, ¡°So, can I have it right now?¡±


    Adrian firmly refused him. ¡°No, eat it after lunch.¡±


    After being forced to eat every single thing on his tray, Zhong Yan was completely unable to eat the cake.


    He looked resentfully at the heart-shaped chocolate cake with its seductive luster that was put into the refrigerator by Adrian. He could only comfort himself by telling himself that it would taste even better chilled. With much reluctance, he left cooperatively with Wei Lan to do his physical examination.


    ¡°This situation is not too good indeed,¡± said Wei Lan while he flipped through the diagnostic records. ¡°A typical case of malnutrition, low immunity, and many suboptimal health indications. According to the patient¡¯s description of drug use history, it is clear that his body shows resistance to conventional drugs, and only shows improvements from the use of drugs with greater potency. But such drugs are harmful to the body, it will come back around in a vicious cycle. In the long run, I suggest starting today that you should stop using these drugs, including this time, even if it will take longer to recover.¡±


    Adrian frowned when he heard that. He asked, ¡°Are there any other ways to improve the situation?¡±


    They were talking in the living room, and Zhong Yan wanted to hear the diagnosis, but Adrian forbade him from leaving the bedroom. Since yesterday, Zhong Yan had been surprisingly obedient. Since Adrian asked, he stayed obediently in the room and did not come out.


    Wei Lan said, ¡°These problems have been building up for many years, it cannot be improved in just a short while. He will need long-term supplements, gradual increase of physical exercise, and proper rest. Keep it up for a year or two, and you may start to see results.¡±


    Of the three suggestions, Zhong Yan could not do a single one.


    Adrian asked with a headache, ¡°What will happen if we let this continue? Will the impact be big?¡±


    ¡°What sort of impact? If you have a strong enough mind and can ignore the occasional fever and cold, along with some good luck on not catching any major illnesses, it will not have many impacts on normal life.¡± Wei Lan continued, ¡°But definitely, he will not live long. The average life expectancy of human beings now is around a hundred years old or so, but that is basically impossible to achieve with his physical condition.¡±


    When he asserted that the other would ¡°not live long¡±, it was no different from his usual tone. There was not even the slightest hint of fluctuations in his mood, as if he were only diagnosing an ordinary flesh wound.


    Adrian looked at him silently for a while, and could not help himself from asking, ¡°Doctor¡­actually, many soldiers have told me that you were too blunt, but I¡¯m glad that was within the army, everyone there had the right psychological quality to take it. Anyway, can you be a little more mindful when speaking about such damning things?¡±


    Wei Lan revealed a look of uncertainty for the first time in a while, and asked, ¡°Am I? I, too, always get the feeling that some of their faces would twist occasionally when I was done speaking, but Adjutant Suster said nobody had any comments about me.¡±


    Adrian rubbed his face and decided he would have to have a good talking to with his adjutant. One should show grace to the man who saved your life, but if this goes on, someone will end the medical officer one of these days.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wrap it up for today, I won¡¯t be seeing you out, so I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡± Adrian saw him out the door. He seemed to have thought of something, and asked, ¡°Doctor, are you returning to headquarters now?¡±


    Wei Lan gave him an affirmative. Adrian said, ¡°Great. When you go for dinner at the dining hall, tell them it¡¯s an order from me. Don¡¯t give cakes such terrible names in the future!¡±

 Chapter 31 - Backing Out

    After eating some of the small chocolate cake, only half of the heart was left. The break at the center was smooth and neat, so much so that those who did not know would have thought it had been cut with a knife.


    When in fact, Zhong Yan had eaten with a spoon.


    Biting on to the spoon, he was enraptured by the half a heart that was left over, and stared at it with desire for a long time; but in the end, he still carefully refolded the cake box, and brought the cake to the refrigerator.


    Adrian was looking through some documents on the living room sofa when he saw Zhong Yan walking out with the cake box. He thought he was going to throw the box out after finishing the cake, but he did not expect to hear him opening the fridge door and gently putting the cake inside.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Adrian asked casually.


    ¡°There¡¯s still half left. I¡¯m putting it in the fridge.¡±


    Adrian looked up from his military documents and looked at Zhong Yan in amazement. This was the first time he had seen Zhong Yan leave part of a cake behind. Did he really eat too much during lunch? But he did not give him a lot.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even finish a cake that size?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­¡±Zhong Yan paused, and continued in a whisper, ¡°I¡¯m putting it in the refrigerator so I can eat it tomorrow.¡±


    This was the cake specially brought back by Adrian. In the past, Adrian would always bring a cake back for him at the dormitory; but now¡­he would probably only receive such treatment when he was sick. If he left half for tomorrow, he could pretend that Adrian bought him cake twice.


    Adrian felt suspicious. ¡°Just eat it if you can finish it. Why wait till tomorrow? It won¡¯t taste good overnight.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not know how he should respond to him. Those thoughts of his were things he could never say. It would be bad if he made Adrian angry now, so he could only vaguely say, ¡°If I eat it today, then¡­there won¡¯t be any tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I took away your terminal, can¡¯t you just buy it from a dessert shop nearby?¡± Adrian could hardly understand him, but then he realized something. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know the address of this house, do you?¡±


    The online virtual community had already become a second full-fledged society after the real world. Practically all physical stores could be found on the internet. After ordering takeout, unmanned drones would be sent to the receiving platforms left out by each house. That was how Adrian ordered dinner yesterday.


    But the cake he bought himself would be different from this cake.


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I like this piece¡­I mean, this type.¡±


    The chocolate cake looked unbearably sweet. Once again, Adrian had reached a new understanding of Zhong Yan¡¯s love for sweets, and even thought he finally understood the reason why he could not bear to finish it¡ªthe headquarter¡¯s dining hall was, in fact, not open to the public.


    ¡°Just eat it.¡± Adrian immersed himself in work once more, and casually said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you a new one when I go back to work.¡±


    Wei Lan had left behind detailed instructions for his recovery. Zhong Yan was being surprisingly obedient, doing whatever it was he asked from him. On the third day, he seemed to have recovered back to normal, but Adrian felt that his mental state was quite terrible.


    Compared to the previous two days, Zhong Yan had clearly fallen into a pit of depression. Most of the time, they would be working on their own personal terminals, and would occasionally bump into each other in the house. Adrian kept having the feeling that those beautiful phoenix eyes had lost their luster.


    Adrian was even faintly regretting telling him about that matter. Zhong Yan¡¯s reaction was far worse than he expected; just for the sake of seeing what the ring looked like, he even dared to jump into a pond in the middle of a cold winter night. Adrian changed his room to the first floor as a safety precaution, but he still could not be at ease.


    And so, on that morning, Adrian locked all the doors and windows before heading out. After thinking about it again, he decided to take the knives and tools from the kitchen with him too.


    He had promised Zhong Yan that he would bring him back a cake when he returned to headquarters. After settling his official business of the day, Adrian was just preparing to head to the dining hall early to buy a cake to bring home, but someone stopped him at the door of his office.


    ¡°Hey buddy, don¡¯t be in such a hurry,¡± Fayn pushed Adrian back into the office and shut the door behind him. ¡°I just came out of the medical office and I wanted to have a chat with you.¡±


    When he heard him mention the medical office, Adrian responded immediately with, ¡°Oh right, I have something I want to talk to you about too.¡±


    Fayn went straight into it. ¡°What did you say to the doctor?¡±


    Adrian was dissatisfied. ¡°Why won¡¯t you ask what he said to me instead?¡±


    ¡°What did he say to you?¡±


    ¡°He told me right to my face that Zhong Yan won¡¯t be living long. Do people normally say that?¡± Adrian went on, ¡°But that¡¯s Wei Lan after all, he saved your life and I wanted to give you face. I would¡¯ve started on him if he was any other doctor.¡±


    When Wei Lan was still a low-level medic, he had once went on an assault with Fayn. At that time, Fayn had gotten gravely injured in order to cover for his teammates, and everyone thought he could not be saved. The conditions were bad, and the medics in the team did not dare to take the risk for surgery either. Adrian had just been promoted at the time, and everyone knew that this new adjutant was the most loyal and trusted friend to their new chief commander; in the case that the surgery fails and he could not be saved, they would have to take on the wrath of their new commander. Wei Lan was the only man who said he could save him after looking at him.


    The other medics reminded him of the man¡¯s status, but Wei Lan could not understand. ¡°What does this have to do with his status? He will die if we don¡¯t perform surgery now, so why shouldn¡¯t we do it if there¡¯s a possibility for him to live if we do?¡±


    Nobody dared to help him, so he used his simple medical equipment to perform the surgery alone on the warship that was still flying across the battlefield. Fayn was also a tenacious man, so they actually managed to succeed.


    After they returned to headquarters, Adrian was furious, and with this incident as the main reason, he replaced the entire top rung of the medical department, and directly appointed Wei Lan as the new chief medical officer, forming a new medical team with the younger subordinates of the department.


    After Fayn¡¯s recovery, he became the no.1 braindead fan of the newly appointed chief medical officer, and could not stand having anyone speaking badly of Wei Lan. The entire military command raged at the chief medical officer, but they did not dare to voice it out. Half of them were indeed respectful of the chief medical officer¡¯s immaculate skills in medicine, but the other half¡­


    ¡°You call that not starting on him? You told him he was too blunt!.¡± Fayn was pointing fingers out of grief, ¡°Doctors are different from us, they¡¯re precious! You can¡¯t just scold him as you please! What if he gets traumatized? You¡¯ll rarely find an honest doctor like Wei Lan in this era! Why did you have to completely rectify the medical office in the past? Isn¡¯t it because of those corrupt medics who only know how to escape their responsibilities for their own selfish gains without any shame? Wei Lan is a forthright man, you¡¯re trying to corrupt our chief medical officer!¡±


    Adrian watched speechless as Fayn¡¯s words escalated higher and higher. In just a few moments, his comments to Wei Lan was already close to affecting their great human renaissance cause.


    No wonder those soldiers would always choose to complain specifically to him when it came to Wei Lan, they can never mention it to the adjutant.


    Adrian cut him off immediately. ¡°I was wrong, I shouldn¡¯t have disrespected the medical officer, and I am reflecting deeply on my actions. Please let me go, I really am busy right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± Fayn was finally satisfied. He hooked his arm around Adrian¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t received the intelligence report from the capital yet, so it¡¯s rare that we¡¯re free these days. Do you have anything going on? Come on, let¡¯s go eat dinner.¡±


    ¡°No thanks, I¡¯ll be leaving after I pick something up from the dining hall.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Fayn dragged his words in an ambiguous manner, ¡°Rushing home? Is that guy better yet?¡±


    Adrian stopped in his steps. ¡°How did you know he isn¡¯t well?¡±


    ¡°The entire headquarters knows!¡± said Fayn. ¡°On the second day of the special commissioner¡¯s stay in your home, the medical officer was urgently summoned there, so people asked him when he returned, and he said that doctors could not disclose private information about his patients. Nobody could pry a single word from him. Most everyone thought that you finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and beat Mr. Who¡¯sit in your own home, but then you ended up staying away from headquarters for two days, so all sorts of rumors are floating out there right now.¡±


    ¡°Are you lot that idle? Is the daily training not enough to shut your mouths?¡±


    The two reached the elevator while chatting. They were just in time to bump into the liaison officer who had just come out.


    Commander, I was just about to look for you! Ah, the adjutant is here as well, that¡¯s good. I have news from the capital.¡±


    Both Fayn and Adrian looked serious. Fayn asked, ¡°Is the report confirmed? The AI¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s not about the AI. About ¡®Butterfly¡¯, our men in the capital have already gotten in contact with that specimen store, and they are urgently trying to confirm it now.¡± The liaison officer added, ¡°We have news about the matter you asked us to investigate after that.¡±


    The other one he asked for¡­


    Adrian said, ¡°Come with me to my office.¡±


    Fayn could see the faint look of unease on the liaison officer¡¯s face, and his heart jumped. He asked as soon as they entered the office. ¡°What happened? Is that guy really in collusion with Bard Pearson?¡±


    ¡°Based on the information we have, he should not be.¡±


    Fayn said, ¡°Then isn¡¯t that fine?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± The liaison officer felt awkward, ¡°The special commissioner¡­He was indeed at Pearson¡¯s side for the two years after his graduation, but for some reason, he suddenly backed off in the third year.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s that too, huh?¡± Fayn was stunned. ¡°So he can still raise the waves in the Supreme Council even after falling out with Pearson?¡±


    The liaison officer shook his head and said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t the case. Because of that, his political situation in the Supreme Council was not ideal, so he could only participate in some marginal work and promote things such as the ¡®Giant Space Rabbits Hunting Law¡¯ and whatnot. He didn¡¯t have much actual power. Until he and¡­um¡­Councilor Yate formed a party did he finally have the opportunity to turn himself around. Later, it was under Councilor Yate¡¯s help that he managed to be elected as a representative councilor. This old matter was not particularly hidden, so many senior officials in the Supreme Council know about it, and we were able to find out about it after some inquiry. When the special commissioner graduated, he was taken by Councilor Pearson into his team, and he had given him many resources. From the looks of it, he was going to support him pretty strongly, but nobody knew what happened to them two years later, nor did they know if it was Councilor Pearson who kicked him out, or if was he the one who insisted on walking out on him.¡±


    Adrian had a grave look on his face; his expectations had come true. Between the giants Bard Pearson and Stalvern Yate, Zhong Yan had indeed preferred Pearson during that time. However, what could have happened that year for Zhong Yan to be willing to face the pressure of Pearson suppressing and getting revenge on him for the sake of heading down this ship towards the pinnacle of power?

 Chapter 32 - Housework

    Zhong Yan had been staring at the sweeping robot for a long time.


    He was originally sitting in the living room so he could use the virtual screen projector there. This device could broadcast the terminal¡¯s virtual screen into a larger size, which was convenient for work.


    But ever since the sweeping robot started its work, his focus would involuntarily be attracted by it.


    The sweeping robot used in Adrian¡¯s residence was a small one in a round shape that was attached to the floor. It was relatively silent while activated, so logically, it should not distract the people who were working in the house; but unfortunately, after Zhong Yan had inadvertently caught sight of the sweeping robot in between the gaps of his documents, he could no longer move his eyes away.


    But it was not his fault; the workflow of this sweeping robot did not seem quite perfect enough; there was a corner of the dining table at the side of the living room that it could not clean.


    Zhong Yan watched as the sweeping robot approached the area again, and cleaned the ground dutifully for a second time, but it just could not clean the palm-sized piece of ground right beside the table.


    After completing one round of its cleaning procedures, the sweeping robot slid out of the living room and sent itself back into the storage room.


    Zhong Yan, ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Adrian parked his car with his heart heavy with thought. As soon as he entered the house, the first thing he saw was Zhong Yan with his entire body underneath the dining table; he was kneeling on the ground and wiping the ground beside the foot of the table with a rag.


    He had his back towards the door, and he was wearing Adrian¡¯s white shirt. Because of his forward-leaning posture, a section of his smooth and fair waist was revealed.


    Adrian had wanted to interrogate him about Pearson as soon as he came back, but he suddenly felt his throat getting parched after being shown such an abrupt scene; he had completely forgotten what he was going to say.


    Was Zhong Yan¡¯s waist that thin? It almost looked like there was barely anything to hold. If he held him with both his hands, maybe¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± When Zhong Yan heard the noise, he slipped out from under the table.


    Only then did Adrian realize what he was fantasizing about. He made a cough as if to hide his thoughts and put down the cake box in his hand. He asked, ¡°What were you doing under the table?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a spot that the sweeping robot kept missing.¡± Zhong Yan walked over to the open kitchen and washed the rag under the sink.


    Since he was worried about getting his sleeves wet, he had them rolled up high. The wide cuffs made his arms look long and slender, and even though the shirt was clearly a pure white, his skin seemed to be even more sheer and snowy-white than it under the sunlight coming in from the french windows.


    Zhong Yan busying himself with housework like this was a scene he had not seen for many a year.


    They had always hated being peeped on in private, but with both of them being almost god-like figures in both their respective studies, they had succeeded in getting an exemption for the weekly school check for their humble dorm which housed the Chief of the School of Military Affairs, as well as the Student Council President. As nobody came to check, it was only natural that they could not compete in the various evaluations; however, Adrian was very sure that if they ever participated, that they would definitely win the title of ¡°cleanest male dormitory in the whole school¡± every month.


    Zhong Yan could take 150% of the credit for that. The extra 50% was to make up for Adrian, who liked to throw his clothes everywhere and left food all over the place, creating a negative impact to their dormitory¡¯s environment.


    Adrian looked at one side of the living room; due to him being in the house these past two days, the daily necessities left on the sofa and the coffee table were now properly cleaned after going to work for one day. However, it wasn¡¯t the cold and ashen tidiness that was there before, his cups and other scattered items were now neatly placed on the table, giving it a very homely feel.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wash it by hand, just throw it into the washer,¡± said Adrian as he took off his coat.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small cloth, I¡¯m almost done.¡± Saying that, Zhong Yan left the rag to dry and washed his own hands before walking towards Adrian, picking up the coat he had thrown on the chair, and hung it on the coat hanger. Then, he took the cake he had casually set down and brought it to the refrigerator.


    He did everything so naturally that neither of them noticed anything strange. Many years ago, Adrian had been used to Zhong Yan following behind him and cleaning up everything he had casually tossed around.


    ¡°I just came back from headquarters.¡± Adrian walked to Zhong Yan and was prepared to talk business with him. ¡°And I have to ask¡­¡±


    Since the clothes he brought over were confiscated by Adrian, the white shirt Zhong Yan was currently wearing was loaned to him by Adrian. It was too big for Zhong Yan, and he also had the first button loose. Due to their height difference, Adrian could see his collarbones that were revealed between his collar just as he looked down, and beneath those collarbones¡­


    Adrian sucked in a breath, and suddenly forgot what he wanted to say.


    ¡°What did you want to ask?¡± Zhong Yan raised his head to look at him in confusion. He did not know why he suddenly stopped after speaking halfway. ¡°Is there any other information about the Supreme Council that you want to know?¡±


    ¡°I¡­No.¡± Adrian turned his eyes away and was starting to get a little angry about his embarrassment. ¡°Button up your shirt!¡±


    ¡°The temperature in the house is controlled. It¡¯s not cold.¡±


    ¡­I wasn¡¯t worried about you getting cold! Thought Adrian irritably. He will have to get a few sets of loungewear tomorrow, ones that fit. Zhong Yan was right, his clothes really were too big for him.


    Seeing him remain silent, Zhong Yan went on, ¡°The Capital gave me a clear response today. The Supreme Council has decided to send a few people to Navi¡¯s primary star to retrieve me and Bayer.¡±


    Hearing that, Adrian sneered. ¡°Are they going to check on Navi¡¯s military forces while they¡¯re at it?¡±


    ¡°That is their idea. I told them that I have yet to recover from my injury, and am not suitable for long-distance travel, so they have not decided on the date yet.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°When that time comes, you can send me out of Navi first. Since the signal they will be broadcasting is one for pickup, it will not be proper to insist on entering Navi after they have us.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who¡¯s coming?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, but I will try to get my first-in-command assistant to lead the team.¡±


    Adrian asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Bayer?¡±


    ¡°Oh, wasn¡¯t Bayer ¡®gravely injured¡¯ and couldn¡¯t work for a while? I assigned a subordinate to replace him and take care of things for now. He¡¯s a young man with great potential. I¡¯ll be better able to work out the dynamics if he¡¯s in charge.¡±


    A young man with great potential? Adrian¡¯s interest was piqued. He tried to ask in an inadvertent manner, ¡°It¡¯s rare to hear praises from you, who is it?¡±


    ¡°Intron Gines, he had just entered the Supreme Council recently. Speaking of which, he¡¯s an alumni like us, and he¡¯s three years younger. We¡¯re from the same major and learned under the same instructor in my third year, so you could say he¡¯s my underclassman from the same department.¡± While saying that, Zhong Yan was ironing out any creases from Adrian¡¯s military coat with a hand-held iron. ¡°Our instructor has a very high evaluation of him as well, and he also has the instructor¡¯s personal recommendation letter¡ªeven I didn¡¯t get a recommendation letter from my instructor.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s instructor from the Supreme Institution¡­Adrian was very sure that his name was on the list they got from the specimen store¡¯s list.


    Even though he appeared neutral in public, he was actually one of ¡°Specimen¡¯s¡± informants in the Supreme Institution amongst the highest-ranking teachers, and he was one of the professors engaged in the anti-AI movement. It was no wonder why Zhong Yan could not receive a recommendation letter from him. He accepted ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposal. It would have been strange if the professor would write him a letter of recommendation after that.


    But in truth, though Intron had also accepted ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposal during his graduation, he still received a recommendation letter. Adrian was now even more confident that Intron had been a member of ¡®Specimen¡¯ since before he graduated. The so-called graduation letter was merely an operation within the members of their organization, and the reason why he could be so ¡®lucky¡¯ after graduating, ¡®coincidentally¡¯ entering the council as Zhong Yan¡¯s subordinate must all be thanks to ¡®Specimen¡¯s¡¯ work.


    If he could speak face to face with the man ¡®Specimen¡¯ had planted by Zhong Yan¡¯s side in the Supreme Council, that would be wonderful. Adrian was silent for a moment. Then he said, ¡°In a few days, you can loosen up a bit and tell the capital that you¡¯re recovering well.¡±


    Zhong Yan turned back and looked at him doubtfully.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to come anyway,¡± Adrian said very naturally, ¡°They¡¯ll start to get suspicious if you keep refusing them.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll have to go if they come get me.¡± As he said that, Zhong Yan¡¯s voice lowered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that¡­I couldn¡¯t leave before paying the fines?¡±


    A twinge of sadness could be heard from his tone, and alongside it was something he could not speak of, but it was a desire that was clear to see. He eagerly wished he could stay longer so that he could be with Adrian for a few more days.


    Adrian felt as if something was stuck in his throat, and a gush of impulse was brewing within his heart. He wanted to say that they could make up some other excuse, but mostly it was so he could allow Zhong Yan to stay behind in Navi¡ªto stay with him.


    Calm down, Adrian warned himself. Putting his hopes on the same person twice is a mistake only a fool could make, so don¡¯t be that guy. What¡¯s more, they were now standing in the frenzy of a changing era. He could never give up an opportunity to learn about important information just because of his own feelings.


    ¡°I do believe that since you¡¯ve agreed to pay me the money, that a proper councilman such as yourself would not go back on your word.¡± Adrian pretended not to have heard the deeper implications of his words, and in the end, he replied, ¡°After all, we are, to some extent, working together right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Zhong Yan turned his gaze down and smiled reluctantly. ¡°Since we¡¯re partners now, can you take my name out of your communications blacklist?¡±


    ¡°No can do.¡± Adrian refused.


    Zhong Yan had too great an influence on him. He had only been staying for a few days, but he could sense a small wave; he must not give himself any more opportunities for personal contact with Zhong Yan.


    ¡°I won¡¯t bother you, just¡­if there¡¯s anything, it¡¯s easier to tell you right away. I received news from the Capital today, and I wanted to tell you as soon as I got it, but I couldn¡¯t contact you.¡± Zhong Yan pleaded, ¡°Just this half month, okay? When I return to the capital, I definitely would not dare to contact you under ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ watch either¡­¡±


    Adrian cut him off and refused once more. ¡°No. If you have anything to say next time, you can just contact the headquarters¡¯ reception. The communication details are available on our homepage. Tell them clearly what you need, and tell them to connect you to my personal line.¡±


    Zhong Yan was visibly disappointed, but he still agreed obediently.


    The light in his eyes dimmed, and he stood there in disarray. Adrian had originally wanted to ask him what the deal was between him and Pearson, but he could not find any way to ask now.


    It would be the same if he asked tomorrow. Thinking that way, the words in his mouth involuntarily took a turn. ¡°Do you want to eat the cake now? You can have your dinner a little later.¡±

 Chapter 33 - Compromise

    Adrian would never expect that, on the second day, he would receive a call from the internal communicator.


    ¡°Commander, someone is calling and they said they have something to talk to you about¡­¡±


    At first, Adrian did not realize who it was who called, so he thought the reason why the receptionist sounded so hesitant was because some other bigshot had called and was seeking him out, so the reception desk could not decide what to do.


    ¡°Who is it? Didn¡¯t I say I was busy this month, and to respond to all of them by saying I¡¯m not around?¡± Adrian casually said, ¡°Transfer it to the adjutant.¡±


    ¡°Uh, but he said he was¡­was¡­um¡­¡±


    Hearing the receptionist stutter to such an extent, Adrian finally realized that something was wrong. Then, he finally reacted, ¡°Is it Zhong Yan?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s him.¡± When the receptionist heard that Adrian did not get angry, it almost felt to her like she had received the emperor¡¯s pardon. ¡°So, should we transfer it to the adjutant, or?¡±


    ¡°Why should you transfer his call to the adjutant? Transfer him to me. Did he say anything?¡±


    ¡°He said it¡¯s urgent, but he didn¡¯t tell me the details. I¡¯ll transfer him to you now.¡±


    After the notification bell, the voice on the call was replaced with Zhong Yan¡¯s.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Did something happen at the capital?¡±


    ¡°Zhong Yan said, ¡°No¡­I just wanted to ask, where did you leave the knives in the kitchen? I clearly saw them just a few days ago.¡±


    As if he was facing a great enemy, Adrian asked vigilantly, ¡°What are you looking for the knives for?¡±


    Zhong Yan had been down in the dumps lately and looked out of sorts. Even though he wasn¡¯t the liveliest person in general, he simply appeared sullen these days. Adrian had constantly been worried about things like him jumping into a pond happening again, so just in case, he had been bringing the knives and kitchen tools to work with him in his car for the past two days.


    ¡°What else would I need a knife for? To cut vegetables.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I went through all the cabinets in the kitchen but I can¡¯t find them. Where did you keep them? I¡¯m in a hurry to use them.¡±


    Why would he be so urgent about cutting vegetables? Adrian was very suspicious that Zhong Yan had finally broken down and was prepared to end himself with a knife. He quickly stood up and turned off the virtual screen in his office before walking out and said, ¡°The knives were getting rusty so I chucked them. I¡¯ll buy a new set on the way home.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s alright then. I can just buy them now on the virtual community. I think I saw quite a few stores nearby that support drones. It¡¯ll still be a while before work is over for you.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Adrian replied. ¡°Don¡¯t buy and leave random stuff in my house. I¡¯m coming back right now. I¡¯ll buy it.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re coming back now?¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice sounded a little panicked. ¡°How come you¡¯re so early today?¡±


    Hearing that, Adrian was even more convinced about his own conjecture. He decided that Zhong Yan must have been prepared to do terrible things to himself with those knives. While rejoicing about having kept away the knives, he responded firmly, ¡°Yes, and I will be home very soon, so just stay there and don¡¯t move.¡±


    Adrian quickly drove himself home and rushed directly through the door without even parking his car properly.


    Then, he was shocked by the scene before him.


    All he saw was that the previously beautifully furnished open kitchen was now heating up with activity. There were now two pots on the induction stovetops that had never been turned on before, and some unknown food was cooking in the pressure cooker. Steam was constantly blowing out of the ventilation hole.


    Zhong Yan was holding a pan with a variety of colorful vegetables sizzling inside, and some spare ingredients had been neatly prepared next to the console, ready for use, with the seasonings and condiments at Zhong Yan¡¯s right.


    The delicious smell of food was floating in the air, and for the first time, life could be felt in the usually empty house.


    ¡°You¡¯re back? That was quick.¡± Zhong Yan was bustling around. It could be seen that he was cooking two things at once and had already tried his best to speed up. ¡°Wait just a little while longer, I¡¯ll be done soon. Where¡¯s the knife?¡±


    Adrian was speechless for a moment.


    As he tossed up the food in the frying pan, he peered over to him¡ªboth his hands were empty.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get the knife?¡± he asked uncertainly.


    ¡°¡­I bought them,¡± said Adrian. ¡°I left them in the car. I¡¯ll go grab them now.¡±


    He took the set of tools he had taken out from the house back in again. Zhong Yan accepted them and washed them, but suddenly paused. He brought the knives closer and observed them, then looked at the whole set of tools.


    ¡°This kitchen knife¡­looks a lot like the one before,¡± he stated in confusion.


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    He did not want to admit that he was worried Zhong Yan would commit suicide with a knife, so he had been going to headquarters with a bunch of kitchen knives for two days. He could only grit his teeth and say, ¡°That¡¯s just the style I like.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked puzzlingly at the set of mass-produced kitchen tools and tried to figure out what Adrian liked about them.


    ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± Adrian approached the kitchen and looked at the pressure cooker.


    Zhong Yan let the tools go and responded, ¡°It¡¯s a vegetable broth, I had to tear the vegetables by hand so they may not look too good, but they won¡¯t be fresh anymore if I don¡¯t use them, that¡¯s why I was in such a hurry earlier. You should go sit down, we can start our meal after I¡¯m done with this¡ª¡±


    Zhong Yan.¡± Adrian cut him off. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s hand paused on the meat. He raised his head to look at Adrian and noticed the displeasure on his face. For a moment, he felt uneasy. ¡°I¡¯m¡­cooking? You said I could buy food from the virtual community¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to buy what you want to eat, I didn¡¯t tell you to buy ingredients to cook for me.¡±


    Saying that, Adrian pressed on the stop button of the pressure cooker. Zhong Yan screamed out for him to stop. ¡°No! You can¡¯t open the pot while it¡¯s cooking!¡± But Adrian turned a deaf ear to him and opened the lid of the pressure cooker after the green light was on.


    It was not fully cooked, but the aroma of the vegetable broth was already wafting over. After carefully distinguishing the smell, he knew that this was the vegetable broth he had greatly praised many years ago, and the one that Zhong Yan would simmer from those few vegetables he usually cooked.


    ¡°It¡¯s still exactly the same,¡± said Adrian. He casually tossed the lid of the pressure cooker aside, breaking up the prepared ingredients with the impact, and scattering them around the console. ¡°What are you trying to do? Are you trying to relive your old dreams with me?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Zhong Yan put the knife down helplessly and said, ¡°I just wanted to¡­if the ordered meals weren¡¯t to your taste, I was at home anyway, so¡­¡±


    ¡°And how would you know they¡¯re not to my taste?¡±


    ¡°There was fish in yesterday¡¯s dinner, I thought you didn¡¯t like fish¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I love it now.¡± Adrian said, ¡°It¡¯s been seven years. My tastes have changed.¡±


    Zhong Yan stood quietly. Seeing the mess on the stove, he tried to save the meal. ¡°I¡­what do you like to eat now? I can learn now, I¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Zhong Yan, do you think that by doing this¡ªcleaning my house every day, and cooking, that I¡¯d fall in love with you again like in the past?¡± Speaking up to this point, a faint frown had formed between Adrian¡¯s brow; because there was a weak voice in his heart, and it was saying: Yeah, wouldn¡¯t it? Weren¡¯t you moved? Wasn¡¯t your gaze attracted to him again?


    He felt a burst of anger rising up, anger that was directed towards himself. No way! He could not let things go on this way.


    Just like that, he pushed that voice down, and at the same time, he spoke, ¡°Never. If you have any such thoughts, then forget it. I told you, my tastes changed, and it¡¯s not just for food.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way. I just¡­wanted to do what I can¡­¡± Zhong Yan tried to argue in a quiet murmur.


    ¡°To compensate me?¡± Adrian asked. After seeing Zhong Yan nod hesitantly, he went on, ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity. The last thing I need is your sympathy.¡±


    Zhong Yan said anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to pity you! I just wanted to¡ª¡± He suddenly stopped.


    What did he want to do? Naturally, he felt remorseful after knowing the truth; he wanted to treat Adrian a little better, but if he asked himself, he really had to admit that he was indeed hiding such selfish wishes. He hoped that he could reproduce that scene from that year, then perhaps he would find another chance for a miracle to happen.


    But miracles were only called miracles because they were so rare in this world. Sure enough¡­Zhong Yan looked motionlessly at the pressure cooker that had been opened. Without a knife, the vegetable leaves that had been torn by hand were already unsightly, but now that the pot had been opened before the time was up, the taste was also ruined. It was destined to be a failed dish.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zhong Yan no longer tried to explain himself. Silently, he picked up the lid that had been thrown aside by Adrian. ¡°I won¡¯t do it again next time.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s brows were knitted into a tight frown. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so¡­subservient. I¡¯m just saying that you don¡¯t have to do those things, you just have to stay here.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be staying for long, A¡ª¡± After thinking about it, he swallowed his name right back down his throat. Adrian would get angry, and he had agreed not to call him by that name. He would not pull on his clothes anymore, nor would he clean up the house and cook. The things Adrian once enjoyed were disgusting to him now. But that was a matter of course, as Adrian was no longer in love with him after all.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just confirmed it with the Capital today. Intron will be leading the team to Navi after the New Year to take me and Bayer back.¡±


    The New Year, it was only a week until then.


    Hearing that, Adrian could feel his throat constricting. It was clearly he who told Zhong Yan to inform the Capital to pick him up, but when he was finally informed of the time, a gush of remorse started pooling up within his heart. So fast? Their days of getting along together like this will come to an end. In a week, they will be departing; and perhaps he, Zhong Yan, would only be able to stay with him for less than ten days while they were on the way.


    Then when will be the next time they meet again? Another seven years? Perhaps they may not have to wait that long. With how things were going right now, it might be next year, or at most, the year after that; the conflict between Navi and the Capital will be completely blown up. When that time comes, regardless of what way it would be, they will definitely meet each other.


    Why did he have to throw off that lid today? It was only ten days, he had seven years to feel hate and regret. Was his willpower so weak that he could not even stand ten days?


    ¡°The New Year¡¯s¡­Will you be at home on New Year¡¯s Eve?¡± Zhong Yan asked cautiously.


    ¡°There¡¯s a celebration at headquarters on that night,¡± Adrian responded.


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Zhong Yan lowered his gaze to cover the disappointment in his eyes. He picked up the rag and wiped the console that had been splashed by the lid of the pressure cooker earlier.


    Go back to your room now, Adrian told himself. Don¡¯t be soft, you can¡¯t show vulnerability to him. Was that lesson not painful enough for you??


    But it was as if his feet had taken root to the ground. He could not move. He watched Zhong Yan clean up the messy kitchen on his own, and though it was still full of food, with the same man busying about, he could not feel the same bustle he had felt when he entered through that door. Only desolation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhong Yan did not hear him walking away, so he raised his head and tried his best to put on a smile. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    Yes. He was supposed to ask Zhong Yan today why he was with Pearson, and why he stepped out. But¡­ Adrian saw the faint red circle around his beautiful phoenix eyes, and it was not difficult for him to imagine how those eyes would quickly fill with tears as soon as he turned around.


    Don¡¯t be soft on him¡­You can¡¯t¡­


    At the moment, the owner of those eyes were still trying their best to remain smiling, but perhaps he was just afraid that he would get upset.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Adrian spoke up. He sighed in his heart. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­try my best to get home before midnight that day.¡±

 Chapter 34 - At Midnight

    The intelligence report from the Capital had taken an entire day and night to be transmitted.


    Adrian was woken up by the notification bell of his terminal. When he saw that the caller was Fayn, he reached out to accept the call.


    ¡°Boss, I just received a confirmation letter from the Capital.¡± It was two in the morning, but Fayn¡¯s voice sounded very alert. ¡°The information provided by the Special Commissioner, including the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯, is indeed true. Our AI has changed, and he is no longer satisfied with the status quo.¡±


    Adrian was not very surprised. In fact, the evidence Zhong Yan showed that day when he arrived was enough to prove things. This was just too big an issue. A readjustment in the deployment and planning for the entire Navi Military Command was required, so he had to confirm it for insurance.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll have a meeting tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Got it. We only need a word of approval on this matter, but this isn¡¯t the reason I called you.¡± Fayn continued, ¡°The signal officer responsible for keeping an eye out for the Capital¡¯s movements contacted me urgently. Just ten minutes ago, there was a big change in the Labor Star. The top rung of the region¡¯s council, a total of three high-ranking members including the current council head have been convicted as guilty by ¡®Butterfly¡¯ and are now in jail.¡±


    Adrian finally realized why Fayn sounded so sober. All the sleep drained from his body the instant he heard that news.


    ¡°Guilty?¡± Adrian sat up from bed, fully awake. ¡°Guilty of what?¡±


    ¡°Quite a lot. Two of them were convicted mainly for corruption, while the council head was not only convicted for corruption, but also for the long-term misuse of his authority for personal reasons.¡±


    ¡°Misusing his authority for personal reasons, for the long term?¡± Adrian felt like he was still in a dream. ¡°The current Council Head of Labor? The one we know?¡±


    The Labor System¡¯s council¡¯s performance in the White Aegis incident was unsatisfactory. But to be precise: it was not to the Capital¡¯s satisfaction. Before this incident, the council house had been in a constant dispute over the problems with the old residents of White Aegis, and they argued for an entire year. Later, White Aegis¡¯ Regional Council announced that they would separate from Labor System and enter the Navi System instead. The regional council had been letting it slide, not even making any movements to suppress them with the might of Labor¡¯s residential army; they only said they were threatened by the Navi Military Command, and the disparity in strength was too daunting, so they did not make a move, and instead were waiting for the rescue of the Capital.


    Both the Capital and Navi were far away from each other, and they were way too far to be of any help. By the time the Capital arrived, Navi¡¯s army had already occupied White Aegis, and even the new border had been established.


    Only a few senior executives in the Navi Military Command knew that they had never threatened Labor¡¯s Council at all. Labor¡¯s Regional Council was lying with their eyes open, and the Navi Military Command was just silently accepting it. The handover of White Aegis was quick and peaceful with no conflicts whatsoever.


    Since then, the relationship between the two adjacent star systems had quietly improved by a lot. Therefore, whenever someone had an issue concerning both parties in these recent years, they were both willing to concede in a tacit agreement to give face to the other.


    Due to his identity, Adrian had never been in direct contact with the Council Head of Labor¡¯s Council, but from the perspective of how the other man worked, he had to be a good official who was very compassionate to his people. His reputation amongst the residents of Labor was also very good, but now¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s the same one we know. Look at the news. It¡¯s the headlines right now and the public is in an uproar. There are some saying he hid it well, but also those who don¡¯t believe it.¡± Fayn continued, ¡°Things have gone chaotic at our neighbor¡¯s. The three remaining high-ranking members have temporarily become the ones in charge. I saw some photos of the scene. There are already military troops out on their primary star¡¯s streets. They may have to go under martial law for a while.¡±


    Adrian coldly remarked, ¡°It seems like the Capital knows we¡¯ve been getting too close to each other. Is the emergency department on standby?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the signal officer sent them a warning before calling me.¡±


    ¡°Pass on my order. Inform the borders now that if anyone escapes from Labor to Navi to avoid the disaster, extend our help to them. After they enter our borders, verify their identities and inform headquarters.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The Capital will definitely do a follow-up, so begin sending more people to watch the situation. Tell the intelligence department to set up a team just to investigate this matter. Tell them right now. Don¡¯t wait for the sun to rise.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Adrian had also added a few precautions before hanging up. Then, he opened the news interface. Without even the need for the search bar, the headlines were already filled with this case. All the mainstream media were criticizing the Labor System¡¯s Council Head¡ªOr rather, the former Council Head, for corruption, praising the AI for pulling out another weed for the humans.


    He felt nauseous. Just as he was looking through the comments, someone knocked on his door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± said Adrian. It seems that Zhong Yan had also received the news.


    As expected, it was the first thing Zhong Yan brought up. ¡°Did you know that¡ªOh, you¡¯re looking at it. I just received the notice from my assistant. We will be holding an emergency round table meeting to discuss the vacancy of Labor¡¯s Council House later in the afternoon, Capital Standard Time.¡±


    Zhong Yan was faintly gasping; it seemed he had run up the stairs. Adrian said, ¡°Sit down and talk.¡±


    Zhong Yan pulled op the chair from his desk and sat down. He had obviously been woken up from his sleep as well, as he was still wearing the new pajamas bought for him by Adrian. He did seem to have patted it down properly after getting up from bed, but he forgot to tidy up his hair. At the moment, his black hair was a tousled mess atop his head.


    He rarely appeared in such a sloppy appearance. Adrian looked quietly at him for a while, then asked, ¡°Are you going to participate remotely?¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t be participating, but I¡¯ll receive the results as soon as the meeting ends. The general rules state that since I am in ¡®poor health¡¯, I am not required to attend. After all, I am currently in Navi District, and within your sphere of influence. They¡¯re worried about eavesdropping, and they will certainly not allow me to attend the meeting remotely. Earlier, Sir Yate¡­¡±


    When he said this, Adrian was stunned. He thought he was calling his name, but he quickly realized that Zhong Yan was talking about his grandfather, Stalvern Yate.


    ¡°Sir Yate contacted me and he told me he was very dissatisfied with the matter. His original words were, ¡®I didn¡¯t raise you up to that position just for you to not be able to attend a meeting!¡¯¡± Zhong Yan laughed. ¡°With Bayer gone, and me away from the Capital, the news he has been receiving has been very late, so he is starting to get anxious.¡±


    ÖÆÈí½ûµÄ¡£¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Adrian asked, ¡°I¡¯m curious. How are you going to explain the matter when you return? You can tell them you were ¡®injured¡¯, but Bayer wouldn¡¯t lie to his master. When that time comes, my grandfather would, at the very least, find out that Bayer has not been hurt at all, and that it was us who forced him under house arrest.¡±


    Zhong Yan widened his eyes at him, seemingly a little surprised.


    Even if it was not the right time for it, Adrian had still let his mind wander. Zhong Yan had a small face, so he would appear very young every time he widened his eyes; not to mention the pajamas Adrian bought were of ill taste¡ªdark blue starry sky print with a large beige-colored rabbit on the front. In order to distinguish it from an ordinary rabbit, the cartoon pattern was usually matched with a starry sky in order to indicate that this was a giant space rabbit.


    Zhong Yan was wearing the cartoon-print pajamas with his hair in a mess; Adrian suddenly felt as if he had gone back to that time ten years ago. It was as if they were still the seventeen-year-olds chatting the night away in their dorms, and not two adult men who held power and authority at opposing ends.


    ¡°He already knows, I told him,¡± said the man whose appearance at this moment could look no purer. In an inquisitive voice, he asked, ¡°You¡­You wouldn¡¯t think I haven¡¯t been contacting him after so many days have you? I told him you separated me and Bayer, and I couldn¡¯t get in contact with him, so I don¡¯t know his current situation.¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    Clearly it was this person in front of him who proposed to put Bayer on house arrest at that time, but he had completely cleaned his hands of the matter. But no matter how he considered it, Zhong Yan really should not be falling out with Stalvern right now. There was nothing to be gained from it for either of them. So, Adrian could only carry the blame in silence.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been in Navi for a while, and you¡¯ve always been in contact with him. Did he ask about me?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°¡­He did.¡± A flash of anger flitted through Zhong Yan¡¯s pupils. ¡°He asked about your personal life, and also about our marriage contract.¡±


    ¡°Oh. What did you tell him?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    From the information Adrian had about the Capital, it seemed at the very least, that Stalvern¡¯s control over Zhong Yan should be very strong; Zhong Yan appeared almost obedient to his every word. Thus, he could not help himself from asking, ¡°You didn¡¯t? Wouldn¡¯t that be considered as rebelling against him? He took it without getting a heart attack from anger?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s used to it,¡± Zhong Yan told him. After some consideration, he added, ¡°Not only him, I think everyone in the Supreme Council should be used to it.¡±


    Only then did Adrian recall that he had also watched one or two of Zhong Yan¡¯s interviews where Zhong Yan was asked about the ¡°Twin Stars Falling Out Incident¡± that was the hot topic within the Federation at that time. Whenever that happened, Zhong Yan would always remain silent without attempting to brush over things with his skills as a means to fight against it. This move was interpreted by the public at the time as him drawing a clear line between himself and Adrian, who stood on the side of the anti-AI, and was not keen on bringing up the three years where they had gotten too close with each other.


    ¡°And what would you say to your subordinates if they ask in private?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Speaking of which, why have you always been silent whenever they asked about me?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to talk about you with those people.¡± Zhong Yan looked at him. ¡°Especially not with your grandfather. Whenever he mentions you, it¡¯s¡­not pleasant.¡±


    Not pleasant was a tactful word to use. Adrian had grown up next to Stalvern all those years. He understood too well what his own grandfather was like; ever since he made clear his political stance, Stalvern had always been furious with him and regarded him as a stain. All kinds of terrible words had been said from his mouth. Unfortunately, he could not meddle in the affairs of neither the Institution Star nor the Navi System. Otherwise, he might have taken things into his own hands long ago and cleaned up his doorstep with force.


    ¡°You¡¯ve always been ignoring me. There was still news about you the first few years, but then you became the commander and Navi closed its borders. Sometimes, I wouldn¡¯t hear a single word about you for months, and in those times, I wished there were people I could talk about you with as well.¡±


    Zhong Yan paused abruptly as if he had suddenly realized he had misspoken. He turned his eyes away from Adrian¡¯s face, and muttered, ¡°I¡­I should be returning to my room. You should sleep. You¡¯ll definitely be busy tomorrow¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Adrian suddenly announced.


    For a moment, Zhong Yan was still caught in a daze as he subconsciously asked, ¡°What?¡±


    But for some reason, Adrian would not go further no matter what. Stunned, Zhong Yan looked at him for two seconds, then, an unbelievable wave of ecstasy washed over him. For reassurance, he carefully asked, ¡°There¡¯s still leftovers from the ingredients I bought a few days ago, how about I cook you some noodles? It¡¯ll be difficult to sleep at night if you¡¯re hungry¡­is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Two bowls,¡± he responded. ¡°Eating alone is too dull.¡±

 Chapter 35 - New Year Gifts

    When he bought this place, Adrian never expected that he would see something like this happening here.


    At three in the morning, he sat at the dining table, handling the news he received from Headquarters while Zhong Yan was busy cooking noodles for him in the open kitchen.


    The aroma of food slowly wafted out from the kitchen. Adrian had been hungry, but now, he was starting to get a little restless from the tempting smell. When he failed to process that piece of information on his screen that he had looked over more than three times, he decided to shut off his terminal screen.


    His efficacy was too low at the moment. It would be best if he ate before he went back to work.


    He walked into the kitchen separated by the bar. He stood by Zhong Yan¡¯s side and watched as he sliced ham. He asked, ¡°How much longer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost ready. Five minutes.¡± After slicing the ham, Zhong Yan stacked them neatly on the chopping board. Just as he was about to grab the kettle, he noticed that Adrian was standing in the way, so he gave him a light push. ¡°Don¡¯t block the cabinet door.¡±


    Adrian made way and retreated to the chopping board.


    There was a row of ham on it. Ham was a cooked food, which meant it was ready-to-eat, and he really was very hungry at the moment. He stared at the tempting row of sliced ham.


    Zhong Yan boiled the water and heated up the pan. He pushed away Adrian who was blocking the chopping board, and just as he was about to fry the ham, he suddenly paused.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my ham?!¡± asked Zhong Yan as he pointed to the empty chopping board.


    Without a change in expression, Adrian replied, ¡°I was testing it for poison.¡±


    ¡°Get out, don¡¯t mess around.¡± With a headache, Zhong Yan drove him out.


    Whenever he cooked, he would have to spend twice the effort whenever Adrian was in the kitchen; if the ingredients weren¡¯t going missing, then the young master who, volunteering to help but could not differentiate between sugar and salt, would add the wrong seasoning; or, he would latch onto him regardlessly to watch him cook, making it hard for him to move.


    Adrian was unwillingly driven out of his own kitchen, and could only watch from outside by the bar.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cooking for two?¡± He saw Zhong Yan put only a single portion of noodles into the pot, so he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll split them into two bowls. I¡¯m just taking a bite.¡± Zhong Yan slowly stirred the noodles in the pot while he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night and we¡¯re heading to bed after this, so it¡¯ll be better if you don¡¯t eat too much either. It¡¯s bad for your stomach, so it¡¯ll be just right after I take some.¡±


    As he spoke, he started staring at the noodles for some reason, and a look of confusion formed in his eyes. Then, he quickly turned on his terminal and typed something in.


    Adrian could not understand what he was doing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t cooked noodles for too long. I forgot how long I need to cook it for.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s fingers slid over the screen and found the corresponding guide. He mouthed the words as he read, and then he turned off his terminal.


    Adrian was puzzled. ¡°Do you not cook noodles in the Capital?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t cook when I¡¯m by myself. I usually just buy take out,¡± Zhong Yan responded.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean why?¡± Zhong Yan was confused. ¡°I¡¯ve only cooked for you. I never cooked when I was by myself. It¡¯s too troublesome, and it¡¯s a waste of time.¡±


    It seemed to be somewhat different from what Adrian had imagined. He asked, ¡°What about when you entered the Supreme Institution?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to cook before I met you. I was either living in an orphanage or the dormitory of compulsory schools. I would also live short-term with a few adoptive families when I was younger. I didn¡¯t have the chance to enter a kitchen. From where would I learn to cook?¡±


    Adrian was truly shocked by this revelation. He had always thought for sure that Zhong Yan definitely belonged to the ¡°poor kids who handled the household early¡± group. He never thought that Zhong Yan would tell him so many years later that he actually had not known how to cook even during the days when they first met.


    ¡°You said the food in the canteen was unpalatable, so I learned from guides. Actually, I was quite unfamiliar with it the first month I started, so I only cooked simple things.¡± When the noodles were done, Zhong Yan scooped them up with a skimmer and casually said, ¡°Later, I thought that if I could cook even better, that you might be even more willing to stay with me, so I kept learning to improve my skills. Didn¡¯t you notice that my cooking skills soared in our third year?¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡± He was completely unaware. At that time, he was watching Zhong Yan through the eyes of a lover, and thought from the first moment that his cooking was the best. It was the food prepared by the person he liked. How could he have any attention left to think about the taste?


    ¡°And just a few days ago¡­¡± Which was the time when Adrian had suddenly gotten angry and ruined the half-cooked soup in the pot. Zhong Yan paused and tried to avoid bringing up the awkwardness of that day. ¡°That was the first time in seven years that I¡¯ve cooked since graduation.¡±


    So it turns out that he was the only person in this world who had tried Zhong Yan¡¯s cooking skills. Adrian tried to control his emotions, but he could not stop himself from feeling overjoyed.


    While filling up the bowls, Zhong Yan tried to probe in a subtle way, ¡°If you¡¯re coming home during New Year¡¯s Eve, should I cook dinner? Just¡­Just take it as a New Year¡¯s gift.¡±


    They had once gone through two New Year¡¯s Eves together. School starts for the Supreme Institution at the start of the year and ends at the end of the year, with two holidays in between. Due to Adrian having completely thrown the towel with Stalvern, he did not return to the Capital, while Zhong Yan did not even take that small planet as his hometown. With the two left with no home to return to, and with the school unaccepting of stragglers, they went to a tourist planet nearby and rented a room to spend their holidays.


    Friends with good relationships would send each other New Year¡¯s gifts, and during those two nights, they waited together for the clock to strike zero, exchanged gifts, and fell asleep.


    Adrian knew that he should give a firm rejection to his proposal. He should tell Zhong Yan that there was no need for that. They were not friends anymore. They did not need to exchange any more gifts for New Year¡¯s. He had already reached the edge of the cliff, and he should not let himself come any closer, but¡­Zhong Yan was leaving soon.


    Why not just indulge for a few days? Zhong Yan would not be staying for long anyway. After the New Year¡¯s, Zhong Yan¡¯s assistant will set off from the Capital to come pick him up, and there was only two days before then.


    It was a moment of the calm before the storm, it should be fine to indulge himself a little, right? When Zhong Yan leaves, he¡¯ll pay the fines. Then they will have no more reasons for any more private contact. Everything will go back on track.


    ¡°Whatever you want,¡± Adrian heard himself say.


    ¡­¡­


    Even though Adrian did not give him a definite answer, Zhong Yan had still bought a lavish selection of ingredients early in the last day of the year.


    This is the first New Year¡¯s Eve that he will be spending with Adrian after seven years. The quake was coming. Everything would start to change. Nobody knew if this would be the last one, or if Adrian would even allow him to use his kitchen after tonight; this might be the very last meal he cooked in his life.


    So, he pulled out all the skills he had, prepared the recipe plan for the afternoon, and after lunch, he began to work, finally completing his work when the sun had set.


    It was only a dinner for two, but he cooked enough to fill the table; all of it were dishes that could be preserved in the fridge for a few days. After all, this was going to be a New Year¡¯s gift. He had to make it grand.


    He wondered when the celebration at Navi Military Headquarters would end.


    Zhong Yan sat in the living room and went through his documents absent-mindedly. Every other minute, his eyes would peer towards the clock on his terminal.


    The minutes and seconds passed, but at eight, Adrian had still not returned. Zhong Yan did not mind. Thinking about it, it would not be good for the General Commander to excuse himself early in a grand celebration such as the New Year¡¯s.


    But nine passed, then ten, and even eleven; Adrian had still not returned


    At 11:30, Zhong Yan could not sit still any longer. After much hesitation, he called the reception desk of the Navi Military Command.


    He never had much hopes to begin with, but he never expected the reception desk to still be operating as usual on a celebration like this. He told them his name and asked, ¡°I would like to ask about the New Year¡¯s celebration for the military command¡­is it not over yet?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Zhong, are you talking about the New Year¡¯s celebration at the headquarters?¡± For some reason, the receptionist¡¯s voice sounded very unsure, ¡°It ended long ago. Everyone left after nine because we didn¡¯t want to deprive everyone the right to celebrate with their family and friends. Of course, there may still be private celebrations happening after nine, and for that, I¡¯m not too sure. May I ask if you need something?¡±


    Did that mean¡­that Adrian was at someone¡¯s private celebration? Was he going to countdown to the New Year¡¯s with his ¡°good friends¡±?


    Zhong Yan pursed his lips, but still decided to ask, ¡°I¡¯m looking for your commander, can you please tell him for me?¡±


    ¡°The commander is not at headquarters.¡± After a pause, the operator finally could not help but ask, ¡°Is he not with you?¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°No. So he left after the party?¡±


    The operator was surprised. ¡°No, the commander did not attend the party today! We all thought he went home to stay with¡­Um, well, what I mean is, the commander is not at headquarters right now.¡±


    After thanking the operator, Zhong Yan sat confused in the living room.


    Adrian did not attend the celebration at all? So what was he doing? Why was he still not home yet?


    Looking at the time, it was now 11:40. Zhong Yan gritted his teeth and found a number in his address book that he had never called.


    ¡°Hello, who is this?¡± That person from the other side asked.


    Zhong Yan hesitated for a moment, but he asked in confusion, ¡°Did you not save my communication number? Didn¡¯t we exchange numbers in front of A¡­in front of him?¡±


    ¡°Zhong Yan?¡± Fayn was even more confused than he was. ¡°What¡¯re you calling me for? And don¡¯t kid me, I deleted your number long ago. With what happened between you and Adrian back then, why would I still have the contact information of my best friend¡¯s ex-boyfriend? That¡¯s too inappropriate.¡±


    Zhong Yan listened on enviously at him calling out Adrian¡¯s name unimpeded. When he heard the final bit, he was speechless. ¡°What ex-boy¡­forget it, that¡¯s not important. I called because I wanted to ask, is he with you?¡±


    ¡°What? Is he not with you?¡±


    ¡°No¡­he didn¡¯t come home.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean he didn¡¯t come home?¡± Fayn was astonished. ¡°He never came to headquarters at all today. Wasn¡¯t he at home this whole time?¡±


    He didn¡¯t go? But Adrian went out early this morning! Zhong Yan had no clues at all. He hastily responded to Fayn and hung up the call. There was only ten minutes left until twelve.


    Where did Adrian go this whole day? Even Fayn did not know his whereabouts¡­


    Zhong Yan had not yet time to think of a reason when a dull bang sounded out from the backyard as if something large had landed on the ground. Zhong Yan could even feel the sofa he was sitting on trembling faintly.


    What was that?! Did something invade the yard?


    Zhong Yan jumped up and rushed to the kitchen to pull out a kitchen knife. If some armed forces really came in, a knife would actually be of no use with his physical limits, but it was better than going unarmed. Zhong Yan held the knife and carefully approached the window. He pulled open one corner of the curtain and looked outside.


    Then, he saw a scene that had him dumbfounded.


    Originally, the only thing between the grassland of the house and the backyard was a row of five-meter-tall trees. Not only did they provide shade, they also prevented anyone from looking into the house from the backyard, allowing more privacy; similarly, it was difficult to see what was in the backyard.


    The only reason Zhong Yan could see it, was because that thing was much taller than the row of trees.


    It was a big, snow-white, fluffy, floppy-eared¡­


    Rabbit.


    With a beep, someone had opened the back door with the owner¡¯s authorization.


    Adrian walked into the house, weather-beaten. He raised his wrist to look at the time: 11:59.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he greeted Zhong Yan who was standing like a fool with a knife in his hand, ¡°Happy New Year.¡±

 Chapter 36 - Can’t Eat That

    Zhong Yan was so shocked that he could not speak properly. ¡°Ha¡­Happy New Year¡­Where did you go? Ah no, what¡¯s that in the yard?¡±


    While taking off his coat, Adrian said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know what that is? It¡¯s a giant space rabbit. And to think you¡¯ve been talking about how much you liked giant space rabbits all these years.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know what it is!¡± Zhong Yan refuted. He even ignored the coat Adrian had thrown on the dining chair. ¡°Is this¡­a holographic projection?¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°You¡¯ll know when you touch it. Come on.¡±


    Zhong Yan followed him dazedly out the backdoor. They passed through the row of trees, and stopped in front of that giant mass of white fur, lifting their heads to stare at it.


    Adrian stuck a hand in his pocket and stood behind him. ¡°Go ahead, try it.¡±


    Zhong Yan put his hand on the dense white fur on the rabbit¡¯s legs; it was soft and warm.


    The amount of force he exerted was too light, so the lop-eared rabbit paid no attention to him. However, it suddenly laid down after seemingly having finished observing its surroundings. Zhong Yan was frightened. He retracted his hand and retreated two steps backward, bumping into Adrian who was standing behind him. Adrian supported him by holding his shoulders.


    ¡°Did you touch it? Is it a projection?¡± He asked.


    ¡°No¡­it¡¯s real.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s mind was filled with all sorts of questions for a moment. He turned around and stared at Adrian for a long time, but did not say anything. Finally, he managed to pick out a single question with difficulty. ¡°Why do you¡­Why do you have a giant space rabbit?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to cook dinner for me?¡±


    A bad feeling rose up in Zhong Yan¡¯s heart, and as expected, Adrian continued with, ¡°Red braised sounds good.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t eat it!¡± Zhong Yan stopped him anxiously. He looked carefully at Adrian¡¯s face to see if he was joking, but the other man was looking clearly at him with his head faintly lowered. The lights shining from the house in the distance illuminated half of his face, and the dim light softened his sharp features. In the breeze of the night, his silver irises looked mysterious, and he was so handsome that it made him feel flustered.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. His favorite giant space rabbit was just right behind him, and this was the first time in his life that he was so close to one; but at this moment, he had completely lost all notions of turning around to look at it.


    There was a scene that attracted his gaze even more, and it was right in front of him.


    Adrian said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring the knife out as well? Should I help you out?¡±


    Zhong Yan came back to his senses and finally realized that he was still holding the knife. There were simply no words he could use to explain himself. ¡°This isn¡¯t for¡­I heard a noise just now, so I thought it was an enemy attack¡­¡±


    He hurried to explain himself in a few words. When he saw that Adrian¡¯s expression was still the same as usual, he finally reacted a little. After some hesitation, he said, ¡°You weren¡¯t joking earlier¡­were you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s got the time to crack jokes with you?¡± Adrian responded.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already made dinner. There¡¯s a lot of dishes, they¡¯ll be ready after I heat them up!¡± Zhong Yan tried his best to persuade him from the idea. ¡°I¡¯m very tired now, I can¡¯t move anymore.¡±


    Adrian suggested, ¡°We can eat it tomorrow¡­Oh, it¡¯s already twelve, so we¡¯ll eat it in the morning. Come on, it¡¯s time to head back.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­are we¡­going just like that?¡± Zhong Yan asked, ¡°What about the rabbit?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Should we feed it something? I wonder if it¡¯s hungry. It¡¯s so small, is it still a kit?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a kit,¡± Adrian answered. ¡°I fed it on the way back, and what¡¯s more, it¡¯s normal for these type of rabbits to not eat for more than a dozen days or so¡­isn¡¯t this what you told me before?¡±


    Zhong Yan was very confused, ¡°¡­You fed it on the way? Where did you get the rabbit from?¡±


    ¡°Why do you care where it¡¯s from?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t just catch one from somewhere, did you?¡± Zhong Yan asked with suspicion. ¡°You can¡¯t catch wild giant space rabbits, that¡¯s considered poaching. The ¡®Giant Space Rabbit Hunting Law¡¯ states it. I drafted the bill myself.¡±


    Adrian shot him a provoking smile and said, ¡°Welcome to the extrajudicial area, Councilor.¡±


    ¡°Even if that¡¯s the current situation¡­¡± Zhong Yan tried to speak, ¡°You still haven¡¯t split from the Federation after all. Laws that are applicable to the entire Federation apply to Navi as well. There are many procedures that have to be gone through to qualify for private breeding of giant space rabbits, and you need a license.¡±


    Speaking to this point, he suddenly realized that Adrian actually met all the qualifications for it.


    The giant space rabbit is a mutation of its genus. Thousands of years ago, a scientific research ship crashed. The search and rescue team rescued the researchers, as well as most of the animals and plants, but left several rabbits of different breeds. Within the cosmos, they produced mysterious variations, and coupled with their strong reproduction ability, managed to survive as a new species altogether. An adult giant space rabbit could generally grow up to 20 meters in length, with slight variations in different breeds, They are usually found floating around in outer space, but they can also survive on the surface of planets. They are considered gentle creatures with no aggressive tendencies.


    In outer space, its figure was actually small enough to a point where it was negligible, but they appeared very huge on land. And, as a space-land amphibious animal, most giant space rabbits floating in the cosmos will inevitably wander into the atmosphere for a while. In a planet with regions densely packed with various breeds of giant space rabbits, you can occasionally see giant rabbits floating in the sky, and it has even become a famous tourist attraction. Similarly, giant space rabbits living on land, such as those in giant space rabbit research institutions, will be brought by the researchers on a ship every so often into space for a walk to maintain their health.


    So to say, not only did taking care of these rabbits require one¡¯s time, energy, and knowledge, a venue large enough to handle the daily activities of such a large rabbit is also needed if one wishes to rear them. They also needed a very large private spaceship.


    Such strict conditions have easily filtered out most of the general public, leaving behind only a few of the rich. However, besides being large, having the ability to overcome gravity and to survive in outer space, giant space rabbits did not have any special abilities. A large sum of money is required for their purchase, and the procedures are both numerous and cumbersome. Moreover, you needed to spend time studying to take the test for the license, so rarely would any rich people be interested enough to put themselves through that.


    There was a very, very small number of privately raised giant space rabbits in the entire federation. One of the more famous owners of one was a female magnate. Even Adrian who was completely uninterested in giant space rabbits knew about it, and that was because Zhong Yan used to follow her social media account. Every day, he would refresh her page just to see if she posted any pictures of her rabbit.


    As for all the other rules and regulations, Adrian was up to the standard. Zhong Yan had also gotten his giant space rabbit rearing license a long seven years ago. With his current position, he only needed to show up and say hello to get the procedures done. Everything would be settled quickly as long as the materials had no issues. Unfortunately, the only problem was the fact that the source of this rabbit seemed to be illegal.


    ¡°How could you catch a rabbit? If word gets out, it will be bad for both your reputation and your image.¡± Zhong Yan was anxious. ¡°Did anyone see you?¡±


    A corner of Adrian¡¯s mouth drew up. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it, so don¡¯t worry yourself over nothing.¡±


    ¡°Someone caught it and gave it to you? Is this some sort of gray-market entertainment activity?¡±


    Adrian did not confirm nor deny his speculations.


    The more Zhong Yan thought about it, the more he felt that that was the case. Lop-eared giant space rabbits were very rare. Maybe Adrian went to participate in a private invite-only party, and the owner gave Adrian the rabbit to get closer to him. It seemed to be a reasonable explanation¡­but it just wasn¡¯t legal.


    Zhong Yan was worried. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll have to raise it secretly. Thank god there¡¯s not many people around here. We¡¯ll need to make it a nest and get it a leash. What if a small lop-eared bunny like this slips out? There are all kinds of people in Navi, it¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    Adrian was nonchalant, ¡°Aren¡¯t I itching to chop it up and destroy the evidence? Who said we were going to raise it?¡±


    The snow-white lop-eared rabbit was laying down quietly beside them this whole time, but for some reason, it came over and rubbed itself on the two humans right beside it.


    Its soft and furry ears swiped past the two. On Zhong Yan¡¯s white-colored loungewear, it was not obvious, but several very long, prominent, and white hairs stood out from Adrian¡¯s black clothes.


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    The rabbit kit stared at them with its big, red eyes, appearing both innocent and pitiful. Zhong Yan¡¯s heart melted and he could not help himself from happily rubbing away at the droopy ears of the rabbit. ¡°What a good bunny! This one is so sweet!¡±


    It had been a very long time since he had seen Zhong Yan this happy. This man did not smile often, but he looked very good with the corners of his mouth raised. Adrian quietly turned on the camera of his terminal. But of course, when he went back to look at it in the future, he would realize that what he took was a picture of Zhong Yan touching a rabbit in the middle of the night with a knife in his other hand, revealing his side profile decorated with a bright smile. It looked very strange, as if it was some promotional poster for a dark fairy tale movie.


    All the way back to the house, Zhong Yan was clearly more excited than usual; even while he was heating up the food, he was still talking to Adrian about the giant space rabbit¡¯s habits, and only suppressed the urge to continue when they were about to begin eating.


    The variety of the dishes was overwhelming. Adrian was quite surprised to see the dishes laid out on the table. He knew that these took a long time to make even if he did not know how to cook. Zhong Yan saw Adrian¡¯s hands stopped after he picked up his fork, and he suddenly worried that he was still keen on having rabbit for dinner.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy some rabbit meat tomorrow and make red-braised rabbit, okay?¡± Zhong Yan hesitated again and again, but still said, ¡°The supermarket sells rabbit meat that was specially bred as poultry, they taste way better than wild rabbits.¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°That¡¯s what you say, but your face is telling me that you don¡¯t want to make it at all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t eat rabbit meat.¡± Zhong Yan muttered a bit chagrined, ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like it in the past either?¡±


    ¡°I love eating rabbits now.¡± Adrian moved his fork. ¡°But don¡¯t buy it, you¡¯ve never cooked rabbit meat so it might not taste good.¡±


    Zhong Yan breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his happy self. Regardless of the matter, Adrian brought home a rabbit before midnight.


    He knew that this was no mere coincidence, that no matter what, him being here was definitely part of the reason that Adrian brought it back.


    But no matter how big of a reason that was, it was enough to satisfy Zhong Yan as long as that number was not zero.

 Chapter 37 - Nest

    After having his meal, Adrian asked, ¡°Have you figured out when Gines is going to pick you up yet?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s setting off tomorrow and taking the official route, so about four days? It depends on where we meet.¡± Zhong Yan brought out the dessert. There was no oven at home, so the small cake was bought from a nearby dessert shop. Casually, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve only mentioned his name once, but you already remembered it.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s heart jumped. Quietly, he accepted the small matcha cake and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite a common surname, but I don¡¯t recall his first name. I had thought to send both you and Bayer to the Lebor System and have them pick you up, but with the changes in Lebor, it might not be safe.¡±


    Zhong Yan held his own slice of cake. There was a layer of syrup on top, and it was very sweet. Adrian did not like this kind of cake. He sat down opposite of Adrian, and just when he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the notification bell of his terminal. He opened it up to check, and his expression changed. ¡°Speak of the devil, the person responsible for gathering news for my subordinate has just come back with something. The results from the round table meeting two days ago are out.¡±


    ¡°The one about Lebor? It only ended just now?¡±


    ¡°It is quite rare. ¡®Butterfly¡¯s processing speed is many times faster than that of a human¡¯s, so he can generally make decisions on the spot in a round table meeting, but this time¡­I heard that the plan had already been decided long ago. They wanted to send one of the councilors from the Supreme Council to the Lebor System to become their Interim Head of Council, replacing the three councilors who had just been convicted, thus helping Lebor out with its¡­¡¯difficulties¡¯ until the situation is stabilized.¡±


    Of the three convicted counselors, one was the Head of Council, while the other two were high ranking members, so they were all from positions of power. Now, the powers of three people were going to be in the hands of a single person, so you could almost say this one Head of Council would have the entire Lebor System under their grasp.


    ¡°The problem lies in the candidate. Pearson wants to send one of his assistants to the Lebor System to become the Interim Head of Council.¡± Zhong Yan sneered. ¡°He¡¯s getting anxious. It¡¯s like he¡¯s afraid people won¡¯t know that he¡¯s the one pulling the strings behind this entire fiasco. But with ¡®Butterfly¡¯ at his side, there was no need for him to cover up his tracks. Unfortunately, he has really gone overboard this time. Lebor may not be the most populated star system, but they are the source of nearly one-sixth of the Federation¡¯s minerals. Did he think the others would just sit quietly and let him swallow the whole pie? I wasn¡¯t present, and besides the other three councilors who are in on this with him, the remaining seven were in opposition to the idea. That¡¯s why they were in a deadlock until now.¡±


    If seven of the twelve representative counselors opposed a bill in the round table meeting, even ¡®Butterfly¡¯ would have to reconsider its decisions. In other words, any major decisions carried out by ¡®Butterfly¡¯ will require the votes of at least six other members to be passed. The original idea of the round-table system was to select twelve of the most capable human beings to become the protective barrier for the remaining billions of their compatriots. And in the last few decades, where everyone was in agreement to the usage of AI, those in opposition would only deal a great blow to their own political image, so the barrier had been ineffective. And in this current time, there were people who could hardly even wait, and they weren¡¯t even trying to maintain this ¡°image¡± any longer.


    While Zhong Yan was talking about business, he had almost never brought his own personal feelings into the mix; just like when he was in a meeting with all the military officers that day. He was calm and unnerved, even while bringing up such sensational news. Probably due to the fact that he was more relaxed today, he had forgotten about maintaining his mask. From his words, Adrian could pick out a hint of his¡­distaste for that man called Pearson.


    ¡°I heard you used to be one of Pearson¡¯s subordinates for two years.¡± Adrian put down his cake. ¡°I¡¯m curious, with your acuity in politics, did you not see the ambition in him at that time?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked calmly at Adrian. ¡°His ambitions were exactly the reason why I entered his command.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I guessed.¡± Adrian went on, ¡°Then why did you leave after that? Were you the one who initiated it?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked deeply into his silver eyes.


    Why did he take that step back? How should he answer that question? He was about to leave. Adrian no longer liked him. They were only seven days away from that one-month deadline. Adrian had said he would pay the fine himself before the expiration date, so their marriage contract would be dissolved soon, and they will no longer have any personal connections after that happens.


    They were two men in antagonistic positions. There was no chance for them to be together anymore.


    ¡°We had a difference in opinions,¡± Zhong Yan finally let out.


    Adrian raised a brow at him. ¡°What kind of differences could make you give up on your future?¡±


    ¡°If there is a suitable opportunity in the future, I will tell you about it,¡± He thus responded. Zhong Yan curved his lips up into a smile at Adrian; it was such a gentle smile, but Adrian felt a strange sense of sorrow.


    But before he had any time to think about that unusual feeling, Zhong Yan had already put away that fleeting smile, and that impeccable mask was returned to its place. He continued on, ¡°Earlier, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ announced the candidates for the interim position of Head of Council in the Lebor System. It¡¯s a high ranking counselor who had been responsible for handling the reports from the Lebor System all this while.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s attention was drawn back to the current situation. He frowned, ¡°And what sort of person is this Interim Head of Council? Do they have any private dealings with ¡®Butterfly¡¯ as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible, his ranking is too low,¡± responded Zhong Yan without any hesitation. ¡°In the past millennium since the activation of the second generation AI, the only people within the Federation that could have direct contact with ¡®Butterfly¡¯ were only the twelve representative councilors. I know that person. He sat neighboring my desk when I was still a high-level councilor. His name is Qu Yongyi, and he¡¯s about¡­forty or so. Anyway, he was considered young amongst the high-ranking councilors. The impression I had of him was that he was a man of little words, and did his work in silence. He¡¯s not someone with a lot of presence. But impressions aren¡¯t always accurate in the Supreme Council, I immediately started to investigate him, and you would do well to start your own arrangements as well. I know you have your own men in the Capital, so we can check from both channels. We may be able to get a more accurate result if we compare our findings.¡±


    ¡°So he was the one in charge of governmental affairs for the Lebor System?¡± Adrian said, ¡°Then that¡¯s just the proof of their inability to settle their internal differences. In the end, both of them had to take a step back and follow the logical choice of finding a man that fits neither sides.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no harm to being cautious.¡± Zhong Yan had already sent out the message he was typing. ¡°If this was not the result Pearson was hoping for, then there would also be the problem that the councilor might not be able to successfully reach the Lebor System.¡±


    Adrian turned on his own terminal. Sitting across from each other, the two chose to issue their commands through text.


    Since the terminal screen was a one-way display, you could not see what the terminal¡¯s owner was doing from the back. So, Adrian did not know that after instructing his men to gather information on Qu Yongyi, Zhong Yan added another command: Find out if Pearson has any plans to target Navi in the future. On the other end, Zhong Yan was also unable to see that Adrian had not given the command to investigate Qu Yongyi to the intelligence department. Instead, it was: investigate Zhong Yan¡¯s relationship with Pearson again.


    ¡­¡­


    After their dinner that evening, Zhong Yan¡¯s heart was itching to see that rabbit again but the only person with the authority to open the backdoor was Adrian. It was already dawn, so he would feel bad if he called Adrian out to stay up and play with the rabbit with him, so he could only look out from the window.


    While standing up, the kit¡¯s head could reach over the trees, but it was laying down now, so the only thing you could see through the trees was a faint, seven to eight meter long pile of snowy white fur on the ground.


    When Adrian was about to go upstairs to sleep, Zhong Yan was still happily looking away at the rabbit through the window. His feet stopped, and he brought himself over to Zhong Yan¡¯s back.


    ¡°Is it that nice to look at?¡± Adrian asked.


    Zhong Yan responded with great enthusiasm, ¡°It¡¯s snow-white! It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen one with this color!¡±


    Adrian, who had no knowledge whatsoever about rabbits, wondered, ¡°Aren¡¯t rabbits generally white?¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about normal white rabbits? They¡¯re not the same breed. The normal white giant space rabbits are those with erect ears, which looks a bit like this.¡±


    Zhong Yan stuck out an index finger on each of his hands and placed them at the top of his head, gesturing to him the type of ears you would normally see on a normal giant rabbit.


    ¡­Just looking young was enough, but why did even his behavioral patterns regressed to that of a young boy when he sees rabbits? When he saw how he was looking up at him, with his fingers on his head, pretending to be a rabbit, Adrian could not help but gulp. With a straight face, he reached out his hands to grab the two ¡°bunny ears¡±


    ¡°I know what it means, you don¡¯t have to show me.¡± Saying that, he took Zhong Yan¡¯s hands down.


    ¡°Oh. Well, lop-eared giant space rabbits are rare to begin with, where did you find it?¡±


    Adrian looked out the window as if he had a newfound interest in the trees, and he pretended as if he did not hear him.


    If he did not wish to talk about it, then Zhong Yan would not pry. It wasn¡¯t as if he could really report him to the proper authorities. Even though he was obsessed with giant space rabbits, if he compared them with Adrian¡­Might as well just raise it secretly for now. He figured that Adrian would probably get sick of it after a few days, then he can try to persuade Adrian to send it to an animal protection agency before he leaves.


    ¡­¡­


    After a good night¡¯s sleep, the first thing Zhong Yan did was to go over to the window to look at the rabbit, but unexpectedly, he found the back door open.


    Adrian was the only person with the authority to open the door. Zhong Yan went out, and the first thing he saw was the rabbit kit. It was too big, so it was hard not to notice it.


    The kit had already woken up, and its body was half-raised. He could not tell what it was looking at, but its tail was facing towards the house. Zhong Yan stood behind it and stared at the big, round, fluffy bunny tail for a moment. Without holding back, he rubbed it softly.


    The rabbit ignored him. At this time, Zhong Yan heard a loud banging noise coming from the front.


    He walked past the rabbit and went deeper into the field, and finally saw what the rabbit was looking at. A pile of artificial wood planks were scattered on the ground, as well as an artificial wooden wall fixed to the ground that was about as tall as two people. The clinky banging noise was coming from behind that wall.


    Zhong Yan continued on to the back of the wall. Adrian was only wearing a sleeveless black tank and was sitting atop a three meter high ladder, hammering a piece of artificial wood on top with his hand-held multitool. With his clothes on, he appeared to have a rather slender figure, but with the sleeveless top he wore for the job, the beautiful muscles on his arms were revealed.


    Zhong Yan raised his hand over his eyes to block out the morning sun and looked up to ask Adrian who was on top of the ladder, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Making a hutch,¡± Adrian responded. ¡°If there¡¯s no cover, people will see it when they pass over in the sky. This planet is full of people from the military command. I don¡¯t want them to find out that I¡¯ve got a rabbit in my backyard.¡±


    Still struggling to look up, Zhong Yan asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°This thing is too detrimental to my image.¡± Adrian lamented, ¡°If I ever get a pet, it probably has to be a wolf or something.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll help you hold the ladder,¡± Zhong Yan volunteered himself.


    ¡°Forget it. You?¡± Adrian stopped his work and mocked him from above, ¡°I¡¯ll have no troubles at all even if I really fell from this height, but you¡¯ll definitely be half-dead if the ladder crushes you.¡±


    Being given the cold-shoulder to his self-recommendation, the only thing Zhong Yan could do was to sit down with his back against the front feet of the fluffy bunny kit, joining it as they watched Adrian work together.

 Chapter 38 - Bedding

    The winter sunlight was spread warmly across the grassland.


    The kit looked around for a while before getting bored and laying down. Zhong Yan quickly moved away. Fortunately, he had responded quickly and took a few steps back. The rabbit leaned towards him and laid down on its side before dozing off.


    It didn¡¯t rest on its long ears, so it covered the grassland like a big fluffy blanket


    Zhong Yan sat himself down again, next to its ear.


    With one section of the nest done, Adrian climbed back down the ladder and walked out from behind the wall only to see the rabbit sleeping on its side, while Zhong Yan had disappeared.


    He wondered, had Zhong Yan returned to the house? But if he did, he would have at least told him.


    Unless¡­Adrian looked to the direction of the artificial pond, but nobody was there.


    Just as he was about to look for him back at the house, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he walked by the rabbit¡¯s ear.


    Since it was laying on its side, one of its ears was laid out over the ground like a blanket, but there was a suspicious human-shaped bulge in the center.


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    He lifted the ear of the young kit, and as he expected, Zhong Yan was laying inside. Since his cover was removed, the breeze was coming in. And so, he sneezed and slowly woke up.


    ¡°Are you also an amphibious animal?¡± Adrian was practically speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t you need oxygen when you sleep?¡±


    Zhong Yan sat up and rubbed his eyes. ¡°Did I fall asleep? It was too warm inside¡­¡±


    ¡°Go sleep in your room.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to sleep anymore, I¡¯ll stay with you while you build the hutch.¡± Zhong Yan crawled out from beneath the kit¡¯s ears. ¡°Are you not going to headquarters today?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first day of the new year, I think even the Supreme Council isn¡¯t doing business today.¡± Adrian put down the bunny¡¯s ear. ¡°Don¡¯t buy anything today.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°There are cameras on the drones, I don¡¯t want them to catch any footage of me with a rabbit in my house. That¡¯s going to destroy my image. You¡¯ll have to wait till I¡¯m done with the hutch.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we have a lot of leftovers anyway, it should be enough for today.¡±


    Adrian spent the entire day building a house about eight meters in both length and height, and made a door that the rabbit could pass through. The door opened from the opposite direction of the house, so nobody could see what was in the hutch from above or from the house. But his thoughts were too optimistic; he thought that once the nest was built, the rabbit would definitely stay obediently inside. After all, Zhong Yan spent three years instilling in him the concept that ¡°giant space rabbits are very well-behaved animals¡±.


    This idea was tragically shattered that afternoon.


    The small building was set up, but no matter how they tried to pull the rope tied to its leg, the kit would not budge. Baiting it with food didn¡¯t work either as it had just eaten not long ago. It was not hungry yet.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say these rabbits were well-behaved?¡± asked Adrian with a blank face. He regretted having listened to Zhong Yan¡¯s nonsense now. How could he have trusted a fanatical giant space rabbit nerd to tell him that they were well-behaved! He should have added the roof later, then he could deal with everything else after dropping the rabbit in with his ship.


    Feeling guilty, Zhong Yan argued, ¡°Isn¡¯t it? It didn¡¯t get mad at you no matter how hard you tried to pull it.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you also tell me that rabbits liked nests like these?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s reasonable to say that this is what it¡¯s used to, so it should have taken the initiative to go in. I have a giant space rabbit breeding license.¡± Zhong Yan eyed the empty wooden house. ¡°I think we have to layer on some soft padding on the ground. Right now, the ground inside is hard, so it¡¯s not attractive to the giant space rabbit.¡±


    Adrian was completely unable to understand. ¡°Don¡¯t they live in space all year round? Why do they like things like that? Do they get padding in space too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how these mysterious creatures are,¡± said Zhong Yan matter-of-factly. ¡°This is why the giant space rabbits are so fascinating! There are many mysteries surrounding them, such as how they came to mutate this way. Did you know? They found new results in the experiment just a few years ago, and they speculated that it may be related to a type of cosmic radiation¡­¡±


    Adrian could tell already that this was going to be bad. Once he gets started, he probably would not stop even after an hour. He quickly cut him off. ¡°Alright, if they like it soft, then they like it soft. But what can we use as padding?¡±


    Zhong Yan stopped in dismay that the topic of ¡°the cosmic radiation hypothesis on the mutation of giant space rabbits¡± would not be continued. After some thought, he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just buy some blankets? We don¡¯t have to stitch them together, just lay them on the ground and we can easily wash the dirty ones in the future instead of having to do all of them together. We can also get pillows as well. Any sort of bedding will do as long as it¡¯s soft. We¡¯ll buy some and pile them on the ground.¡±


    Actually, according to the process, domesticating a giant space rabbit should start with training them to discharge their waste at set timings, but Zhong Yan figured he was about to go soon, so there wasn¡¯t any need to spend so much effort on this as Adrian definitely would not be keeping it for long either. They can send it to the protection agency in a few days, and there will naturally be professionals there to take care of it.


    But what he never thought of was the fact that this lop-eared giant space rabbit would stay under their care for decades to come. His thoughts at this moment would soon lead to the madness caused in the following years by the rabbit¡¯s refusal to use the toilet.


    Adrian had no comments. ¡°Alright, I think twenty comforters should do the trick. We¡¯ll also get some cushions and maybe some bedding as well.¡±


    They both turned on their terminals at the same time, then they both paused.


    ¡­If they buy something off the virtual community, they would be delivered by the drones, and the drones have cameras on them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy them on the way back from work tomorrow,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t think your car can fit twenty comforters and a bunch of pillows, can it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just drive a big enough car.¡±


    Zhong Yan was shocked. ¡°You have other cars?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that nonsense?¡± Adrian asked in return, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you only have a scooter back in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zhong Yan responded.


    ¡°¡­¡± For a while, Adrian did not know what to say. ¡°You¡¯re doing quite a lot to keep your image clean.¡±


    Zhong Yan contended, ¡°No, that was all I could afford. The things in the capital are too expensive. Both the car and housing prices there are the highest in the Federation.¡±


    ¡°Well thank you for educating me on that. I¡¯ve only lived there for about seventeen years.¡± Adrian snided, ¡°Have you never realized that I have an underground garage?¡±


    ¡°I do know there¡¯s a garage in this house,¡± Zhong Yan responded. But he always thought that it was the same as the villas in the capital that could only park a car or two.


    ¡°My underground garage is about as big as the first floor of this house,¡± Adrian revealed.


    Zhong Yan was so shocked that his eyes widened.


    ¡°So don¡¯t worry, I have cars that can fit twenty comforters.¡±


    ¡°Are you that rich?¡± Zhong Yan asked with admiration.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± said Adrian understatedly. ¡°The main point is, my garage is full, but I remember I still have a few extended large-capacity cars in a resort under my name in a neighboring planet.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes glistened brighter in awe as he looked at him. Adrian was getting a little light-headed. It was no wonder that some people in the virtual community loved to flaunt their wealth. Experiencing it for himself was quite¡­


    But before he could enjoy two seconds of Zhong Yan¡¯s gaze, he was interrupted by his ringtone.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Adrian had a clear look at the caller and was instantly displeased.


    Fayn was unaffected by his emotions at all and sounded in high spirits. ¡°Happy New Year, Boss! I¡¯m out with Dr. Wei to have some fun and we happen to be near your house. Why don¡¯t we have dinner at your place tonight? You¡¯re home, right?¡±


    ¡°Happy New Year.¡± Adrian looked up to the giant rabbit beside him that refused to enter its nest, and firmly rejected. ¡°Nobody¡¯s home¡±


    ¡°Stop joking, I¡¯m right outside your door and I see lights.¡±


    Adrian, ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello? What¡¯s wrong? Come open the door.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Adrian struggled to find the right words, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you were coming earlier?¡±


    Fayn was surprised. ¡°When have I ever called to tell you I was coming? Haven¡¯t I always just came? What, you got something you can¡¯t show anyone in your house? Isn¡¯t it just that guy there? It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen him.¡±


    From Adrian¡¯s words, Zhong Yan was able to deduce what was going on, so he mouthed out a question, ¡°Suster?¡±


    Adrian nodded.


    Zhong Yan pulled Adrian¡¯s wrist over to him and placed his terminal to his ear. ¡°Suster. It¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Fayn jumped. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Well, we were just about to go out so why don¡¯t we go out for dinner together?¡± Zhong Yan was speaking to him completely unperturbed. ¡°We haven¡¯t cleaned up the house yet and it¡¯s a bit messy, so we won¡¯t be inviting you in.¡±


    His tone sounded so natural that Fayn couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with his words, so he responded in a dazed state, ¡°Oh¡­Um, that works, I guess? Dr. Wei, they said we¡¯re going out to eat.¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan realize that Wei Lan was around as well. He could only hear a vague and incoherent response from Wei Lan, then Fayn continued. ¡°Dr. Wei says sure, so you guys come out and I¡¯ll drive.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re coming.¡±


    Zhong Yan hung up the call and looked at Adrian.


    ¡°Drive out your extended car,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°We¡¯ll buy it after dinner. Then we can get the rabbit in when we¡¯re done tonight. We shouldn¡¯t wait for tomorrow. Too many matters are suddenly coming up.¡±


    Adrian wiped his face. ¡°Alright, go get changed.¡±


    Adrian drove his car out from the underground garage and to the front yard, picking Zhong Yan up, then left the gates. Fayn and Wei Lan were both chatting outside their car. When they saw Adrian¡¯s car, both of them stopped.


    When Adrian and Zhong Yan got out of their car as well, Fayn said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit over the top? We¡¯re just eating dinner. Do you have to drive out a limited edition car?¡±


    ¡­No, it¡¯s only because this car has the largest capacity. Adrian said, ¡°I just casually picked one.¡±


    Fayn¡¯s face showed that he almost wanted to say ¡°You¡¯re shitting me¡±, but Zhong Yan tried to add on to the story, ¡°He forgot to charge the car he usually drove.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I was going to drive?¡± said Fayn.


    Adrian responded, ¡°We¡¯ve got other things to do after dinner.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first day of the New Year¡¯s, what kinda business you got?¡±


    ¡°Just buying some things.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence, I was just about to head down to the commercial district to buy myself a new razor. I¡¯ve been too busy these past few days.¡± Fayn stroked his chin and turned to ask Wei Lan, ¡°Are you going too, Doctor?¡±


    Wei Lan nodded. ¡°Sure, I could stock up on some cereal.¡±


    Adrian and Zhong Yan met eyes for a moment, and their faces looked slightly awkward. If they went together, then they obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to explain why they had to buy so many comforters and pillows in one go. So, with a throbbing head, Adrian tried to find a way to stop them. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be going the same direction. We¡¯ll be purchasing bedroom accessories.¡±


    Fayn was shocked as he stared at the awkward looks of the two. He asked in suspicion, ¡°What sort of bedroom accessories are we talking about?¡±


    Calmly, Wei Lan offered his analysis, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the type that¡¯s suitable to be bought with other people around.¡±

 Chapter 39 - What Are You Looking At?

    ¡°The hell are you talking about?¡± Adrian responded, ¡°I¡¯m talking about pillows and blankets.¡±


    Fayn asked, ¡°What are you suddenly buying pillows and blankets for? What, are you sleeping separately now?¡±


    Adrian could deeply feel that this topic could not go on any longer. He spat his words out through his gritted teeth, ¡°We¡¯ve always been sleeping separately.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, you only have one spare set at home. I¡¯ve even slept on them before.¡± Fayn was even more puzzled now. ¡°Then why are you buying new ones?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t it because that damned rabbit wouldn¡¯t go in its nest? Adrian shot Zhong Yan a look that said: You wanted to buy the blankets, you deal with it.


    So Zhong Yan did. Swift as a blade, he blurted out, ¡°One of them got dirty.¡±


    Fayn asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it take just two hours to throw it in the washer and dryer?¡±


    ¡°¡­It ripped, so I threw it out.¡± Zhong Yan forced himself further down the rabbit hole.


    Fayn was shocked. ¡°What on earth did you do to not only get a blanket dirty but also ripped?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked to Adrian. It almost looked as if he was trying to ask for his permission to tell, but in truth, it meant: I can¡¯t anymore, you go.


    The words ¡°what the hell kind of a stupid reason is that?¡± were practically written in Adrian¡¯s eyes.


    Even Fayn was feeling hesitant. He could not believe what was going on. ¡°Could it be¡­ you two¡­fought?¡±


    ¡°Adjutant Suster, stop asking about the blanket,¡± Wei Lan interjected.


    Both Adrian and Zhong Yan breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear Wei Lan say, ¡°The blanket must be dirty for reasons that are inconvenient to explain, thus why the commander is not saying it. So it would be better for you not to ask.¡±


    ¡°Pf-¡± Fayn could not help himself from laughing.


    Adrian rubbed his forehead. Zhong Yan turned his head to observe the logo on Adrian¡¯s car and pretended that they were no longer caught up in this troubling conversation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing the reaction of the two, Wei Lan¡¯s spoke with some confusion, ¡°After the commander¡¯s suggestion from last time, I reflected on it and felt that it made sense, so I¡¯ve been learning to read the atmosphere¡­was there anything wrong with what I said?¡±


    Fayn tensed up immediately, and said earnestly to him, ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, Dr. Wei! It¡¯s my fault for being too dense. I won¡¯t ask anymore. Have you been practicing just recently? I think you¡¯ve really made great progress!¡±


    Adrian said to Wei Lan, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you¡­¡±


    But before he could finish, Fayn hooked his arm around his neck and brought him to the side, whispering, ¡°Come on, bro, what¡¯s up with you? Can¡¯t you be a little nicer to Dr. Wei?¡±


    ¡°Me? Not nice enough?¡± Adrian was at his limits. ¡°And what the hell¡¯s with what he¡¯s saying?¡±


    ¡°Then tell me, what are you buying the blankets for?¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Look, you¡¯re not gonna say it either, so isn¡¯t it an inconvenient reason to talk about? What did he say wrong?¡±


    In that instant, Adrian felt the impulse to come clean to Fayn about the rabbit in his backyard and be done with it. This guy would definitely make fun of him, but so be it then.


    ¡°What¡¯s more, he¡¯s only saying this now because of that random suggestion you gave him, now look what you¡¯ve done.¡± Fayn tried to persuade him, ¡°Anyway, he was just trying to be nice and help you out. I was going to mess around more if he never spoke up, it¡¯s just too hard to pass up.¡±


    ¡°Get outta here.¡± Adrian said, ¡°We¡¯ll go our own way after dinner. I can¡¯t stand him.¡±


    The differences between people are too huge, so Adrian thought. He didn¡¯t even have one-hundredth of the tolerance that Zhong Yan had. Only Fayn could stand him.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯t bother you with your bed accessory shopping, okay? Don¡¯t be so cold man.¡±


    While talking, Fayn led him back with his arm still around his shoulders. Enthusiastically, he turned to Wei Lan. ¡°The commander said he didn¡¯t think your efforts were fruitless. You¡¯re doing really great right now!¡±


    Adrian couldn¡¯t stand to hear more so he twisted his head to the side, and noticed that Zhong Yan was looking straight at him. With outsiders around, his demeanor was as calm as still water, but Adrian could still see resentment welling up in his beautiful phoenix eyes.


    What happened? Adrian pondered on it for a moment and realized that Fayn¡¯s arm was still around him.


    Zhong Yan had once accused him of ¡°being interested in Fayn¡±.


    Adrian shuddered and shrugged Fayn¡¯s arm off his shoulder.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Fayn suddenly asked while speaking with Wei Lan, perplexed.


    ¡°Stop pulling me around when you talk. Do it normally. There¡¯s people watching, show some propriety.¡±


    ¡°What? Who¡¯s watching?¡± Fayn asked.


    Zhong Yan quickly paved a way out for Adrian. ¡°So what¡¯s good to eat in Navi¡¯s capital? I saw some good reviews for a steakhouse in the virtual community, should we eat there?¡±


    ¡°Sure, get in the car.¡± With years of tacit understanding built up between them, Adrian followed him out without any hesitation. He opened the door to the driver¡¯s seat and spoke with grave sincerity to Fayn, ¡°We have one day off and it¡¯s work again tomorrow. Better set your mind back for that and stop asking useless questions.¡±


    ¡°What? But I didn¡¯t do¡­¡±


    But before he could finish, Adrian had already gotten in the car with his final last words of ¡°I¡¯ll send you the address¡± before shutting the door.


    ¡°Did you really find a good steakhouse?¡± Adian asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I saw some good reviews of the black pepper sauce in this place. They made it themselves.¡± Zhong Yan turned on his terminal and showed him the address. ¡°It¡¯s this one. Have you been there?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Let¡¯s go try it out.¡± Adrian sent Fayn the address.


    Zhong Yan thought about what Adrian told him not long ago, about the change in his taste, so he asked hesitantly, ¡°How come you haven¡¯t been there? Do you not like black pepper steak anymore? Should we go somewhere else¡­¡±


    Adrian activated the driver¡¯s panel and said, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. I¡¯ve been busy and this is a new shop, I just haven¡¯t had the time to go.¡±


    The two pairs met up outside the restaurant. When they walked in together, half of the people in the steakhouse stood up.


    The sounds of greeting such as ¡°Good day, Commander¡±, and ¡°Good day, Adjutant¡± could be heard resounding through the restaurant.


    Adrian gave them an acknowledging nod before waving his hand, signaling for them to sit. ¡°Happy New Year¡¯s everybody, please, continue.¡±


    Though he said that, it was clearly still difficult for some not to pay attention to them. Though they¡¯ve seen their commander eating with the adjutant quite often, it was rare for their commander to be seen together with that unmentionable person.


    The business in this shop was good, and four people just so happened to have finished their meals in the corner, leaving a vacant table.


    Zhong Yan took the innermost seat and sat down. Adrian sat beside him, whilst the two others sat opposite of them. There was an ordering screen in front of every person, but Adrian shut off his own menu without even looking at it and connected his personal terminal to the screen. Most restaurants offered this setting so their customers could look through their terminal while dining.


    ¡°Are you not eating, Commander?¡± Wei Lan asked, confused.


    Fayn rolled his eyes and responded for him. ¡°No, he¡¯s eating. Someone else will order for him.¡±


    Adrian was flipping through the news and was just about to say something when he heard that, but he heard the one sitting beside him speak to him softly, ¡°I¡¯m done. You like it medium-rare, right? With a side of vegetables, but you should skip the pasta since I still have to give you half of my steak. It¡¯s not good to eat too much.¡±


    Adrian casually responded, ¡°Anything¡¯s fine, you decide.¡±


    ¡°Look at that, Doctor. I can¡¯t stand it. They were like this every time they ate when they were still in school.¡± Fayn complained to Wei Lan, ¡°I never ate with them alone after that, and I also stopped calling people out for rumor mongering in the school¡¯s gossip forum.¡±


    Wei Lan was born without much interest in the interpersonal relationships of others. For him, reading about medical literature was much more interesting than gossip, but Fayn was a rare friend of his, so he tried his best to figure out how he was supposed to react and came to the conclusion that ¡°Fayn was envious that Adrian has someone to order food for him¡±. Since he was in unfamiliar territory, he pondered over the matter seriously and felt that there was nothing wrong with his conclusion. Only then did he say, ¡°Adjutant Suster, I can also order for you if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    This time, not only Adrian, even the pinnacle of calm, Zhong Yan, raised his head to look at them.


    It was like Fayn had suddenly turned mute. He stared at Wei Lan¡¯s delicate face, but he could not spit out a single word. After hemming and hawing for a long time, he finally mustered, ¡°I¡­don¡¯t need help, how about I order for you? Ah, no¡­I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already ordered.¡± Wei Lan looked in confusion at the state of his breathing and said, ¡°Adjutant, you seem to be breathing unsteadily. What¡¯s wrong? Is your glucose level low?¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head almost undetectably before lowering his head to the menu again and added a drink for Adrian.


    Adrian sighed in his heart and opened up a chat with Fayn.


    Fayn received two incoming message prompts back to back, so he quickly slipped away from Wei Lan¡¯s questioning with the excuse of checking his messages. Opening it up, it read:


    Adrian: Are you an idiot?


    Adrian: That was too embarrassing, don¡¯t tell anyone you know me.


    Fayn: Go buy your blankets and leave me alone.


    Wei Lan was the fastest of them to order so his meal was ready soon after. A young girl brought his dish over and placed it in front of Wei Lan before saying the usual ¡°please be careful, it¡¯s hot¡± and so on.


    When she left, she gave a few hard glances to Zhong Yan, and she was completely unable to cover up that strange smile on her face that was different from the usual business smile. The girl¡¯s eyes were so fiery that both Adrian and Zhong Yan had noticed them.


    ¡­For some strange reason, that smile and gaze felt rather familiar, so Zhong Yan thought.


    Adrian¡¯s thoughts were far simpler than his; he figured that someone would only stare at Zhong Yan because of how good he looked, and this was already a common occurrence since they were still in school. He swept his eyes over the restaurant¡ªhe and Zhong Yan were sitting in the deepest part of the restaurant, and thus were facing the entire restaurant, so they could easily see the situation around the whole restaurant. He had only realized from that quick glance that practically the entire restaurant had been watching them subtly.


    Fayn and Wei Lan had their back towards the rest of the restaurant, so the only ones they could see were him and Zhong Yan. Since he was stationed on Navi¡¯s capital for the long-term, it was not rare at all to see him here.


    Adrian turned sideways to look at Zhong Yan. For the sake of setting the atmosphere, the overall lighting in the establishment was very dim, but there was still a warm yellow light shining down above each diner.


    Being caught in the beam, Zhong Yan¡¯s skin still appeared extremely fair despite the warm yellow lighting. Currently, he was quietly sitting with his hands propping up his cheek, his head lowered down to look at the virtual screen on the table. A warm shadow was cast beneath his eyes from his long eyelashes. This was clearly a peaceful and serene scene like that of an oil painting, but he still felt a strong allure when he looked closer upon the face in that painting.


    Adrian suddenly stood up, and the other three people sharing his table jumped in surprise.


    ¡°You two,¡± said Adrian to Fayn and Wei Lan who had their backs to the rest of the restaurant, ¡°change seats with us.¡±

 Chapter 40 - Black Pepper Sauce

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Fayn.


    Adrian told him, ¡°I don¡¯t like sitting on the inside.¡±


    ¡°How come I¡¯ve never heard you say anything like that in the past?¡± Fayn said. ¡°Dr. Wei¡¯s food is already here. We should just stay put.¡±


    Adrian had already gotten out of his seat and helped Wei Lan move his dish to Zhong Yan¡¯s spot. Wei Lan had no comments on the issue, and Zhong Yan had only casually sat down there; since Adrian wanted to change, the two of them didn¡¯t mind doing so.


    Seeing that Wei Lan had already moved over, Fayn followed him over despite having nary an idea on what Adrian was trying to do. The table was very wide, so those sitting next to each other were much closer than the people sitting across from them.


    Not long after changing their seats, their food was served.


    Adrian took away the decorative flower on his dish and passed it to Zhong Yan.


    First, Zhong Yan carefully observed his steak for a few moments before he began to cut into it. With his eyes alone, he could see a small amount of tendon that was hard to chew on the steak he ordered, but they were quite thankfully gathered mostly on one half of the steak. Zhong Yan carefully planned out the line he was going to cut and sliced out the half of the steak that was pure meat.


    Just as he was done, Adrian suddenly reached over and snagged away the tough half with his fork.


    Before Zhong Yan could react to what had happened, Adrian had already put that half of the steak on his own plate and pushed it back in front of him.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Zhong Yan quickly spoke, ¡°You got the wrong one, that one¡¯s not for you.¡±


    ¡°You really think you can cut or chew this half with your strength? You¡¯re slow enough as you are,¡± Adrian said impatiently. ¡°Stop bullshitting and start eating.¡±


    Helpless, Zhong Yan could only eat his meal.


    Fayn tried a few bites and said, ¡°No wonder this place is so highly praised in the virtual community. I thought the shop hired people to write reviews but the black pepper sauce is actually really good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Adrian echoed his sentiments. ¡°The taste is not bad.¡±


    Zhong Yan paused in his movements for a second and looked pensively at Adrian¡¯s plate.


    Near the end of the meal, the waitress who had brought Wei Lan¡¯s meal came over again. This time, she brought Adrian a caramel pudding in a tall crystal glass.


    Adrian was doubtful. ¡°Did we order this?¡±


    ¡°Commander Yate, our boss says this is a gift for you,¡± the girl explained. ¡°This is to thank you for your contributions to the Navi System. It¡¯s just a simple dessert. We hope you enjoy it.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°In that case, please help me thank your boss for his sincerity.¡±


    The girl thanked him again and took another look at Zhong Yan, then turning back to look at Adrian. A dreamlike look appeared on her face, and she left again.


    She thought she wasn¡¯t being too obvious, but Adrian still noticed it. He couldn¡¯t help but find the waitress a bit strange, but he did not think much of it.


    He pushed the pudding towards Zhong Yan¡¯s side and said, ¡°You eat it.¡±


    ¡°They gave it to you, it wouldn¡¯t be nice if you didn¡¯t eat it,¡± Zhong Yan refused.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already thanked them¡± Adrian grimaced at the layer of caramel on top. ¡°It¡¯s too sweet. We have our backs against the restaurant, nobody¡¯s gonna see.¡±


    Adrian did not enjoy eating sweets, and would only barely accept matcha flavored cakes; Zhong Yan knew this. With some awkwardness, he offered, ¡°Why don¡¯t I eat the caramel layer for you?¡±


    Fayn poked his nose in on purpose. ¡°I can eat it for you, boss. I¡¯m not afraid of sweets, bring it over.¡±


    Adrian glared at him and pushed the cup in front of Zhong Yan. ¡°Hurry up, stop dallying. I¡¯m going to go wash my hands. I want to see you done with that when I¡¯m back.¡±


    The washroom was close to the back kitchen of the steakhouse. When he passed by the kitchen after washing his hands, Adrian caught sight of the waitress crouched into a corner with her head down, looking at something.


    After some hesitation, he sneaked up to her.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to do anything bad. Adrian was really only doing this because he found her earlier expression strange and it made him suspicious, especially with how she was secretly squatting here and all, and so he quietly sneaked up behind her.


    When he realized that the girl was only checking some messages in a small chat group on her terminal, he immediately wanted to retreat and avoid intruding on the privacy of others, but it was already too late.


    Being rather short, Adrian was much taller than the girl, which made it easy for him to see the contents of her screen from behind her. Thanks to his good dynamic vision, Adrian was able to see at one glance the name of that chat group¡ªSilver Eyes Giant Space Rabbit Frontline Discussion Squad (Navi Platoon).


    Silver eyes¡­


    Giant rabbit¡­


    What the hell does that mean?


    Don¡¯t all rabbits have red eyes?


    And what¡¯s that Navi Platoon thing in the parenthesis? Did they have other platoons elsewhere as well?


    Adrian was completely puzzled, and at the same time, he felt that those stupid creatures, the giant space rabbits, had been coming up in his life way too much recently. Ever since he graduated and no longer had to stare at Zhong Yan¡¯s giant space rabbit bed sheets, it had been many long years since he had heard the name of that creature.


    But actually, he did have a conjecture in his heart; he felt that those two words seemed to have something to do with both him and Zhong Yan, but he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to peek at the contents of another person¡¯s messages again, so he could only leave in confusion. He decided to wait till he returned home to investigate what that chat group was all about.


    ¡­¡­


    The four of them said their farewells at the entrance of the restaurant.


    Zhong Yan and Adrian were headed towards where they parked their car when the cold winter wind blew past. Zhong Yan rubbed his neck and stopped in his tracks. He turned to Adrian and said, ¡°You should go ahead and start the car first. I seem to have forgotten my scarf at the steakhouse. I¡¯ll go get it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Adrian, and he casually added on, ¡°I¡¯ll wait at the entrance. Otherwise, what am I going to do if you ran off?¡±


    When they went back to the steakhouse, someone had already occupied their corner. The staff at the front desk said, ¡°Zhong¡­Ah, um¡­are you here for your scarf?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over here, the waiter who cleaned the table picked it up earlier.¡± The cashier handed the scarf to him. ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Instead of receiving it, Zhong Yan paused for a moment before asking in a quiet voice, ¡°Is your boss in the shop?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The cashier was surprised. ¡°Do you need our boss for something?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with him.¡±


    The cashier made a call, and a middle-aged man with a beer belly came out not long after. He looked puzzlingly at Zhong Yan and was just about to ask what he needed when he was stunned in place, unsure of what he should refer to him as.


    But while he was still feeling troubled over what to call Zhong Yan, Zhong Yan began, ¡°Hello, may I ask if you are willing to sell the formula to your black pepper sauce?¡± I can sign a confidentiality agreement, and I can guarantee you that it is only for personal use. I will not use it for profits and I will never make the formula public. If you¡¯re willing to sell it to me, you can name me your price.¡±


    The boss wiped his sweat and said, ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s about that! And here I was wondering what went wrong¡­Well, I don¡¯t mind. The price can be flexible if you¡¯re using it for yourself¡­but a breach of contract is going to cost you more, is that a deal?¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± Zhong Yan easily agreed. Adrian was still standing outside so he was in a rush to go. He exchanged contact information with the boss and decided to wait till they were back before settling the contract.


    But just as he was about to go, the cashier who was still holding onto Zhong Yan¡¯s scarf quickly stopped him. ¡°Oh wait, hold on, Zhong¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± The boss was so shocked that he quickly interrupted the cashier.


    ¡°Oh no, I forgot!¡± The cashier was also sweating heavily in shock. She patted her chest and said, ¡°Gosh, that scared me, I nearly blurted it out. Thank God Commander Yate isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°Blurted what out?¡± Zhong Yan, who had been called back, asked suspiciously, ¡°And why are you thankful he¡¯s not here?¡±


    The cashier returned his scarf to him while the boss said in surprise, ¡°Do you really not know? We can¡¯t say your name in our star system. Otherwise, the Commander will get furious.¡±


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± No wonder. Zhong Yan carefully recalled the people he had come in contact with in Navi System, and it was indeed true that he rarely heard anyone call him by name.


    The cashier asked, ¡°Sir, are you and the Commander getting married? Time is almost up to pay the fine.¡± But more importantly, the two of them did not seem to be at each other¡¯s throats like the rumors said when they came to eat.


    The boss waved his hands. ¡°The Commander has his own plans, naturally. So don¡¯t ask nonsense.¡±


    Zhong Yan bid them farewell and left. After he did, the cashier said to her boss, ¡°I wonder what he wants the formula for.¡±


    ¡°What else for? Didn¡¯t he just eat dinner here? He liked it so he wants to cook it for himself when he returns to the Capital.¡±


    The cashier was even more confused. She said, ¡°But he didn¡¯t order black pepper just now. He wrote it himself in the notes that he wanted tomato sauce. I don¡¯t think he likes black pepper at all.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Adrian asked just as Zhong Yan came out, ¡°Was it that difficult to get your scarf?¡±


    Without arguing, Zhong Yan said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go buy the blankets.¡±


    The streets were bustling as it was the first day of the New Year¡¯s, so there were quite a lot of people passing by them. Many people recognized the two who were walking side by side, and they were all watching them, even turning back to look after passing them by.


    Adrian stopped in his steps. Before Zhong Yan could even ask what¡¯s wrong, Adrian pulled the hood of his jacket over his head with one hand.


    Zhong Yan was startled. Of course, he knew that many people were watching them, but he had already been long accustomed to drawing gazes after being the focus of attention for the last decade. It was reasonable to say that Adrian should be used to it as well. Maybe¡­Adrian just didn¡¯t want to be seen walking next to him by too many people.


    But that was only normal. Zhong Yan pulled up his scarf silently. After all, Adrian should scorn him for his current identity. Or perhaps, he did not hate it, but only did not wish to be seen with him. After all, the boss told him earlier that Adrian would get furious if he so much as heard his name.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve brought a pair of sunglasses if I¡¯d known earlier.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was muffled by his scarf. ¡°Why don¡¯t we split up? I remember where the car is.¡±


    Adrian could not understand his train of thought. ¡°Split up? Why? Are you really trying to escape? But what you said makes sense, I¡¯ll get you a pair of sunglasses later. It¡¯s like these people have lived all their lives never seeing a¡­¡± a good looking person before.


    He had swallowed down the last bit of his words back in time. But unfortunately, he had already said words like those many times seven years ago in the past, so it did not stop Zhong Yan from understanding what he meant at all.


    In order not to make it awkward for Adrian, he tried his best to press down his urge to smile, and quickly pulled out a question, ¡°Oh right, did we leash the rabbit before coming out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s leashed,¡± Adrian responded, ¡°Your memory¡¯s terrible, you asked me that just before we came out.¡±


    The two chatted idly about the rabbit while entering the car, and headed towards the shopping district.

 Chapter 41 - Mystery Forum

    Since the blankets were for the giant space rabbit kit, naturally, they had to be the biggest ones.


    Adrian brought Zhong Yan into the largest bedding shop. The sales assistant recognized him and quickly came to ask what he needed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the biggest type of blanket you have here?¡± Adrian asked.


    It was a strange question, but the sales assistant still answered to the best of her ability, ¡°We only have a few varieties in the largest size. They are designed specifically for extended king-sized beds, but any beds below 2.3 meters would not require it. May I ask how large your bed is?¡±


    ¡­About 8 meters long and wide.


    Adrian responded, ¡°I just want your largest. Give me twenty.¡±


    The sales assistant could not believe her ears. ¡°Did you say¡­twenty?!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the stock?¡±


    ¡°We¡­We do have the stock.¡± The sales assistant stuttered. ¡°Should I show you the designs? Do you have any color preferences?¡±


    ¡°Any twenty will do. I¡¯m not picky,¡± said Adrian. It¡¯s just for a rabbit. What kind of fancy designs did it need?


    Just as he said that, he heard a soft voice from behind him saying, ¡°We have to choose, the colors have to be bright.¡±


    Only then did the sales assistant notice that a shorter man was following right behind Adrian. That man was wearing a hood with his head slightly lowered. The sales assistant had initially thought it was one of Adrian¡¯s army friends so she did not pay attention to him. But now, only when the man raised his head to speak did the sales assistant finally catch a glimpse of that shocking face.


    The person who came with Adrian to buy blankets actually happened to be he-who-shall-not-be-named! She was even more shocked now than when she had heard Adrian asking for twenty blankets in one breath.


    But the most shocking parts were still to come.


    Adrian revealed an incomprehensible expression as he turned to ask Zhong Yan, ¡°Why? Are the gi¡­are they picky with colors too?¡±


    They? The sales assistant perked her ears. Were they buying these for someone else? What kind of person was worthy enough to have both the Chief Commander of the Navi Military Command and a Representative Councilor of the Supreme Council buying stuff for them?


    Zhong Yan nodded resolutely. ¡°Bright colors are more attractive to them.¡±


    ¡°How old do you think they are? You think they care about that?¡±


    What? Turbulent waves were crashing in the sales assistant¡¯s heart. How old did they think they were¡­Was it a child?


    ¡°It¡¯s because they¡¯re¡­still young.¡± Knowing that other people were around, Zhong Yan chose his words with caution, and vaguely said, ¡°His character may change when he grows up a bit, but it¡¯s just part of a newborn¡¯s natural nature.¡±


    A newborn baby! The walls were crashing down on the sales assistant¡¯s heart.


    Adrian looked doubtfully at Zhong Yan for a moment. Why are creatures living in the galaxy all year round attracted to bright colors by nature?


    But Zhong Yan was the professional in this regard, so Adrian definitely did not want to be questioning him in his field. It is highly likely that he would be force-fed a scientific education on this subject for days to come. Even if he was not going to speak about it in public in front of everyone, he would definitely do so when they reached home. Adrian wisely chose to swallow down his response of ¡°That makes no sense¡±, and turned back to the sales assistant. ¡°Give me bright colors, in your biggest size. I want twenty. Do you have pillows? I need big ones.¡±


    ¡°Large bolsters and cushions are fine too,¡± Zhong Yan added on from the side.


    The sales assistant was barely able to squeeze out a professional smile and led the two further inside. ¡°Yes, we do have large pillows. What do you think about this one? There¡¯s this type too. We have large cushions over here as well.¡±


    Zhong Yan went over to pick out some pillows with the sales assistant. Meanwhile, after looking for a long time, Adrian picked up a big red pillow and gave it to Zhong Yan, asking, ¡°What about this one? It¡¯s bright.¡±


    Zhong Yan reached out to squeeze the pillow and said without any hesitation, ¡°This won¡¯t do. This is buckwheat husk, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not soft.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it quite soft?¡± It took so much effort for Adrian to pick one that he could not let this go. Frustrated, he squeezed it himself and said, ¡°Let¡¯s buy a few.¡±


    ¡°If I say it¡¯s not soft enough then it¡¯s not soft enough. Am I the expert here or are you?¡±


    Adrian shut up. He tossed the big red pillow back with indignation and grumbled, ¡°This is too damn troublesome. I¡¯m going to be throwing him out anyway.¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly turned around and said in a stern voice, ¡°What are you saying? You were the one who¡­¡± brought it back ¡°you have to take responsibility.¡±


    ¡°Should I still¡­note it down?¡± The sales assistant had the store¡¯s customized electronic stock records in hand while she looked at the two men giddily.


    ¡°No.¡± Adrian spat, ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, ask him.¡±


    A short while later, the sales assistant recorded down the few types of pillows Zhong Yan had picked out, while Adrian added on, ¡°Give me ten of each of these.¡±


    ¡°Ten? Of each?!¡± The sales assistant asked, her voice nearly cracking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, that¡¯s too much,¡± Zhong Yan quickly stopped him.


    The sales assistant thought to herself: Yeah, even if you want to spoil a child you shouldn¡¯t buy so much in one go¡ª


    ¡°It won¡¯t fit in the car,¡± Zhong Yan continued on. ¡°Just buy a few for now, we can get more next time.¡±


    Adrian pondered on it and found it reasonable, so he said to the sales assistant, ¡°Keep a backup of this list. I¡¯ll come back for it next time. I¡¯ll pay for the blankets first. Get some people to move them to my car.¡±


    Adrian wrote down his parking lot number and left after settling the bill. The sales assistant looked at the figures of their backs with a dazed face and was out of it for quite some time.


    ¡°Hey¡­hey!¡± A few of her other colleagues, who didn¡¯t have anyone to tend to, came over and gave her a nudge. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What did Commander Yate buy just now?¡± A colleague asked.


    The other began, ¡°Was that the taboo councilor next to him earlier? I thought they didn¡¯t get along. Why did they come out to shop together today?¡±


    The sales assistant slowly came back to her senses and told her colleagues, ¡°I¡­I think I just heard about something amazing from them¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Once they returned home, Adrian temporarily passed Zhong Yan the authorization rights to the back door and threw the arrangement of the rabbit nest to him.


    He was originally prepared to settle some of his official duties, but it was the first day of the New Year¡¯s; it wasn¡¯t just him, most of the people in the Federation were on vacation, so there really wasn¡¯t much to do. At this time, he suddenly recalled the strange waitress he met during dinner, as well as her little discussion group.


    Adrian pulled up an incognito software, the results of the research and development team. This software could create a virtual terminal address to cover up his real identity, so he could avoid being tracked by ¡°Butterfly¡± for a short period. In recent years, this was the type of illegal technology used by those within ¡°Specimen¡± to dish out anonymous leaks in the virtual community.


    But this time, he was not using the virtual terminal for anything related to ¡°Butterfly¡±. Silver eyes were a well-known physical feature of the Yate family, so Adrian felt that this group must have been formed against him. It was better to not risk using his account to investigate.


    He set up his anonymous account, and typed in ¡°Silver Eyes Giant Space Rabbit Discussion¡±. Thanks to the accuracy of the search phrase, he was able to find the entrance to the forum quite easily. Once he entered, a seemingly clean-looking forum appeared, and the introduction greeted him: The Silver Eyes Giant Space Rabbit Forum, founded seven years ago. A discussion group for the biotechnology enthusiasts amongst the people, discussing on how to cultivate silver-eyed giant space rabbits.


    It sounded harmless enough, but something seemed off regardless of how he thought about it. Adrian casually opened up a tool to bring up webpage traffic data and typed in the forum¡¯s name. What he found was that the user loyalty rating was shockingly high. Measuring the user loyalty levels of a forum with the tool¡¯s algorithms would usually bring up results of about 10%, but this Silver Eyes Giant Space Rabbit forum had the staggering results of 72%


    ¡­Cultivating giant space rabbits with silver eyes¡­is that really such an attractive topic?


    But to really look inside the forums posts, you would need to have membership rights. Adrian chose to register in the forum, and a long questionnaire popped out.


    The top read: Due to the special circumstances of the forum, we adopt a strict membership system where new members are required to answer a set of questions before they are manually reviewed. As the largest forum in this circle, truly likeminded brothers and sisters should be able to understand our cautiousness. If you can¡¯t understand the contents, this forum has nothing to do with you, so we wish you a good day before you leave.


    Adrian, who could not understand yet was reluctant to leave, trudged onwards.


    First question, short answer question. What is the most important article of the Code for the forum.


    ¡­No idea, skip.


    Second question, essay question. Please explain in detail the meaning behind this forum name.


    ¡­Seems like the introduction on the front page was written for nothing.


    Adrian gave up his idea of becoming a member and turned to use the keywords to search for that discussion group instead. As expected, he found a lot of relevant groups. In addition to the so-called ¡°frontline squad¡± he saw that day, there were a lot of less private groups. He chose a random one out of them, but he still had to answer a verification question despite the lower privacy requirements: Please answer the family names of any of the main characters.


    Adrian pondered on it for a moment. The group he saw earlier with the name ¡°frontline¡± something had entries like ¡°Navi Platoon¡± and ¡°Capital Platoon¡±, so he could almost be certain that these groups were related to him and Zhong Yan. After all, it was no secret that Zhong Yan loved giant space rabbits, and knowledge of it was even more well known after he promoted the anti-hunting bill.


    He thought about it, and typed in the answer ¡°Zhong¡±.


    Verification passed.


    Several people welcomed him for joining, but even more people were discussing heatedly about something in the group.


    ¡°I also want to see for myself how good the President looks! Ah, will I make it in time if I move to Navi now?¡±


    ¡°Did you take a good look at the post? The girl who leaked the news said their height difference was super cute! There probably haven¡¯t been many people who¡¯ve seen them standing together in real life.¡±


    ¡°I can only use holographic projections to image the height difference¡­¡±


    ¡°Are they that rare? Hasn¡¯t everyone in the administration group of our forum seen it in the past? After all, they were part of the gossip board in the Supreme Institution.¡±


    ¡°Based on our forum¡¯s standards, sitting and eating together is no different from getting married and having sex, huh?¡±


    ¡°No no, they weren¡¯t eating alone, the informant said other people were there too.¡±


    ¡°Then they¡¯re married, but haven¡¯t done it yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s reasonable to say that the truth is not too far off, friends! They¡¯re still in the state of wedding preparations! I don¡¯t care, there¡¯s only a few days left and they still haven¡¯t paid the fines. They¡¯re definitely not paying it.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll get married! They won¡¯t pay the fine! It will definitely happen if I keep lying to myself every day.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it one of the frontline girls in Navi who leaked the news that the Chief is super rich?¡±


    Adrian looked at the scrolling chat on his screen, and was speechless for a moment; it felt like he was reliving the shock he felt from seeing the Twin Star tag on the school¡¯s gossip forum for the first time ten years ago, but the shock he received today was clearly even greater. After all, everyone spoke very vaguely in the school¡¯s forum. Nobody dared to say words like ¡°having sex¡± and whatnot.


    He mulled over it for a long time before he could finally type out something to try and figure out what this group of people were doing. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m new here/ May I ask why you¡¯re still calling Adrian Yate ¡®Chief¡¯ and Zhong Yan ¡®President¡¯? They¡¯ve graduated for so many years. And also, who leaked that Yate was rich?¡±


    His questions hit like a grenade, and the entire group was roaring.


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t mention the names!!! What¡¯s with this newbie??? Where are the moderators?¡±


    ¡°First article of the Code! Don¡¯t mention their real names!!! Do not ask about the identity of the informants!!!¡±


    ¡°The newbie sounds strange, did they join on accident?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention their real names! Don¡¯t ask about the informants! It¡¯s a hard life trying to find a place to squeal over them! Are the moderators going to deal with this? This is a blatant violation of the Code.¡±


    The group administrator soon appeared, ¡°Checked the terminal address, not a forum member. Could be a mistake, should we kick them out?¡±


    A line of agreements popped up below.


    Before Adrian had any time to argue, his terminal screen popped out of the chat group.


    ¡°You have been kicked out of the group.¡±

 Chapter 42 - Rabbit Nest Adventures

    Adrian¡¯s espionage mission failed miserably just as he began. Besides finding out two articles of its mysterious ¡°Code¡±, he got nothing else out of it.


    He shut down the incognito software and felt like he really was too idle. He was wondering if he should prepare his speech for tomorrow¡¯s meeting in advance when a call suddenly came in.


    It was Fayn. Adrian picked up the call, and before he could even say anything, he heard snarling from the other end, ¡°Can you do something?! He called me for two nights straight! These are the only two nights in Dr. Wei¡¯s entire working year that he¡¯s free! He keeps interrupting us every time I get a good vibe going! I knew he had something against me¡­Is this revenge? You¡­¡±


    ¡°Slow down, buddy,¡± said Adrian, confused. ¡°Who called you for two nights straight?¡±


    ¡°Who else?! That guy in your house! He asked me where you were yesterday, and now he wants me to pass on a message to you. Why can¡¯t he just message you directly?¡±


    Awkwardly, Adrian replied, ¡°¡­Because he can¡¯t get to me. He¡¯s on my blacklist. What does he need?¡±


    ¡°He wants you to go look for him right now, said he¡¯s got ¡®a bit of a problem¡¯. I asked where he was, and he actually told me he was in your house! Fucking shit¡­You¡¯re both in the same house, what kinda problem does he have that he can¡¯t just knock on your door? Are you guys doing some kinda play? Could you not drag me into it?¡±


    A bit of a problem? Is the rabbit not getting into the nest? That¡¯s not right¡­He knew how Zhong Yan was. He definitely wasn¡¯t the type who would seek help if it was something he could handle himself, much less seeking help from someone he doesn¡¯t even have a good opinion of. If the blankets weren¡¯t working, he would definitely come knocking himself to tell Adrian.


    Then what was it? Looking at the time, they¡¯ve been back for quite a while. He thought that Zhong Yan was already done laying out the blankets for the rabbit¡¯s nest and should not be outside at this moment, but did something dangerous happen? Adrian¡¯s chest constricted. He stood up and said as he walked towards the backyard, ¡°Alright, I got it.¡±


    ¡°What did you get? You have to deal with the situation¡­¡±


    Adrian had no mood to deal with him anymore so he interrupted him outright, ¡°Alright alright, I¡¯ll deal with it. I got stuff to do so I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    He opened the door to Zhong Yan¡¯s room. As expected, it was empty. So, he headed to the backyard.


    The eight-meter-high rabbit nest was on the grass, but he didn¡¯t see the rabbit. Thinking about it, the blankets must have been effective so the rabbit should be in the nest. Adrian circled around to the nest¡¯s entrance and instantly stopped.


    To be precise, half of the rabbit was in the nest, but half of its white and furry buttocks and its big round tail was exposed.


    Adrian looked around, but Zhong Yan was nowhere to be seen. Suspiciously, he walked over and flipped through the giant fluff of a rabbit tail, but he was not inside.


    ¡°Zhong Yan?¡± He tried to shout.


    Unexpectedly, he got a response. Zhong Yan¡¯s voice sounded out from inside the rabbit¡¯s nest and was transmitted from an area close to the door. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    Adrian managed to pinpoint his position by the sound, and he walked towards the door. He asked, ¡°Did you finally get eaten by this rabbit?¡±


    ¡°No, giant space rabbits don¡¯t eat meat,¡± he responded, but his voice sounded a bit muffled through the artificial wooden planks. ¡°I tried to lead it in with the rope after putting down the blankets, but the door was too small, so it¡­it got stuck, and I couldn¡¯t get out either.¡±


    Adrian reached into the dense rabbit fur and touched the edges of the door: there was no gap. Sure enough, it was stuck. He shouted to the inside, ¡°Then let it out.¡±


    ¡°I tried, it doesn¡¯t want to go out, it just kept pushing in!¡± shouted Zhong Yan back to him. ¡°I told you the blankets were effective!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really effective. Amazing,¡± Adrian mocked with sarcasm. ¡°So Mr. Rabbit Expert, may I ask how you¡¯re going to get out of there now?¡±


    Zhong Yan was defeated, and jabbed back after a long time, ¡°You¡¯re the one who made the door too small!¡±


    ¡°This rabbit is fatter than I thought,¡± Adrian said. He thought the rabbit just looked puffy because of its dense fur, but he never expected a genuine deal.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you widen the door a bit? Do you have any tools like chainsaws or whatnot in your house?¡± Zhong Yan asked from inside.


    ¡°That I do, but you¡¯ll have to come out of there first, or the wood chips will fly everywhere.¡±


    Adrian circled around the exposed rabbit butt. Actually, there were two skylights at the top of the nest for ventilation. It was big enough for a person to pass through it, but it was too high up. There was only a single ladder in the house so there was no way for him to get him out after getting up there. Looking around, there seemed to be a small gap at the rabbit¡¯s back.


    The door was too narrow so the rabbit was stuck on both sides, but it was tall enough that there was some space on top.


    ¡°Climb up onto the rabbit¡¯s back first, then you can walk out on its back,¡± Adrian instructed him.


    Awkwardly, Zhong Yan touched the rabbit¡¯s ears and said, ¡°I tried that, but¡­I couldn¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s laying down, how tall do you think it is? Can¡¯t you get up just by pulling on its hair?¡±


    Zhong Yan tried again, but his arms were not strong enough. After tussling about for a long time, he still did not get anywhere besides tiring himself out and panting.


    The little rabbit kit thought he was trying to play with it, so it nudged its head over and rubbed him softly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t get up.¡± On the edge of tears, Zhong Yan sat on the blankets and said this to the outside.


    Adrian¡¯s muffled voice sounded out from the outside, ¡°Well color me impressed, you can¡¯t even climb up this height?¡± Then, he stopped talking.


    Did he leave because of how useless he was? Zhong Yan lifted up the rabbit¡¯s ear and placed it on himself before sitting down, downcasted. It was fine if Adrian left, the rabbit would have to go out for some exercise during the day anyway, he could just go out then. There were so many blankets inside that it wasn¡¯t cold either¡­


    Suddenly, the clear voice of a familiar man came from above his head, ¡°I moved you out of my blacklist.¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his head and saw Adrian looking down at him from above the rabbit. The moonlight shone in from the skylight and was cast upon him like a spotlight on a stage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call my subordinates so casually next time, especially at night. He¡¯s also a single man, what do you think would happen to his image if word gets out? But of course, that doesn¡¯t mean you can bother me either, so you better watch yourself, understood?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked up at him, and answered dazedly, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Adrian jumped down and landed nimbly beside Zhong Yan. The kit turned its head over in an attempt to nuzzle him, but it was pushed away with disapproval.


    ¡°This rabbit is too stupid.¡± As he said that, he pulled Zhong Yan up from the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll pull you up.¡±


    ¡°Wait, hold on. The blankets were quite big so I didn¡¯t use all of them earlier, we have two left.¡± Zhong Yan motioned Adrian towards the side.


    The whole nest was full of bright colors like red, yellow, green, and blue; Adrian could hardly see where the leftover blankets were.


    ¡°We can bring it back and I can use it, I was just thinking of changing mine anyway,¡± said Zhong Yan.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your current one?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Suster say during dinner¡­¡± Zhong Yan went on awkwardly, ¡°Didn¡¯t he say that was the set he used when he slept at your house? I don¡¯t want to use the same set of beddings as him.¡±


    Adrian grunted, ¡°He said the one he used were the spares in my house.¡±


    ¡°He said you only had one set of spares, so shouldn¡¯t the one on my bed be¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s only one set of spares, and I¡¯m using it. The room you¡¯re sleeping in is my room, my bed, and my blankets.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at Adrian in disbelief, and stuttered, ¡°What¡­¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, then bring one over. Hurry up.¡± Saying that, Adrian was going to grab the remaining two blankets, but he was stopped by Zhong Yan.


    ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s quite troublesome to take it up, we still have to climb up the rabbit¡¯s back, so¡­let¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you make up your mind? Get up if you¡¯re not getting them.¡±


    Adrian crouched down to allow Zhong Yan to step on his shoulder, then he stood up and sent Zhong Yan up by supporting his legs. Meanwhile, he grabbed the rabbit¡¯s fur and easily climbed up himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to Zhong Yan, who did not dare to move. ¡°I¡¯m here, you won¡¯t fall.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded. He walked unsteadily over the kit¡¯s back. It really was reassuring to have Adrian right behind him. They bent down to cross through the door of the rabbit¡¯s nest. Zhong Yan looked at the ground and said anxiously, ¡°¡­How do we get down?¡±


    Adrian jumped down first. The grass was not as soft as the blankets in the nest, but he rolled out of it and reduced the impact. It did still hurt a little. An indiscernible frown crossed Adrian¡¯s brows, that bit of pain would not bother him; but if it was Zhong Yan¡¯s soft and tender body, it might¡­


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you move a ladder over?¡± said Zhong Yan from on top of the rabbit.


    ¡°No need, just jump. I¡¯ll catch you.¡±


    Adrian spread his arms wide and raised his head to look at him, ¡°Come.¡±


    Zhong Yan took a breath. It took so much effort for him to struggle through life till he was this old. For him to get a foot up in the world, he was a cautious person who cherished his life; but at this moment, he put away all the safety concerns to the back of his mind. Adrian was standing in the grass beneath the starry sky, looking at him with his arms wide open, telling him to jump.


    So he jumped.


    The wind whistled in his ear while Adrian¡¯s face grew bigger in front of his eyes. In less than a second, he slammed into Adrian¡¯s arms, and the two fell onto the grass.


    That free fall caused Zhong Yan¡¯s heart to beat wildly, and he was only able to snap out of it after a few seconds, only to realize that Adrian was stuck beneath him.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± After saying that, Zhong Yan tried to get up, but realized only after he moved that Adrian¡¯s arms were clenched tightly around him.


    And strangely enough, Adrian seemed to have realized this even later than he did. He jerked his hands back abruptly and said under his breath, ¡°Get up!¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly got up and wanted to reach out to pull up Adrian, but Adrian sat up and ignored the hand that was reached out to him, and instead said, ¡°Go inside, your work¡¯s done here.¡±


    ¡°Are you not going in?¡± Zhong Yan asked in confusion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in after making the door wider.¡± Adrian looked at him rather impatiently, ¡°Go on, hurry up.¡±


    Zhong Yan was starting to get anxious after seeing no attempts from him to stand up, so he crouched in front of him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you hurt your leg?¡±


    Adrian reflexively curled up one of his legs, and put his arm around it before barking out irritably, ¡°I¡¯d be fine even if you¡¯d get a fracture out of that. Can you just go? Looking at you annoys me.¡±


    He was still fine earlier, but Zhong Yan was suddenly given a scolding out of nowhere, so he left a little confused.


    Perhaps he was unhappy because he made him fall down, so Zhong Yan thought, but he didn¡¯t do it on purpose.


    Adrian sat on the grass by himself for a while.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s waist was really slender. It had been so long since he held it. But¡­even during the best time of their relationship, Zhong Yan had never pressed his body down on him like that before, and he even held Zhong Yan¡¯s waist so tightly¡­


    No! Stop thinking about it! After sitting and mulling over things for a while, that part that had gotten a reaction earlier did not go down in the slightest and even became more spirited. Adrian forced himself not to think about the feeling from earlier and stared at the rabbit¡¯s tail to divert his attention.


    And the worst part was, the rabbit who had refused to step back actually came out by himself, perhaps because nobody was playing with it anymore. It lowered its head and rubbed its ear against Adrian, but Adrian grabbed the rabbit¡¯s fur and yelled, ¡°What a damned trouble maker, this rabbit ain¡¯t no different from its owner!¡±

 Chapter 43 - Illegitimate Child

    The next morning, Adrian woke up late.


    He took a cold shower in the middle of the night before widening the door of the rabbit¡¯s nest. After his work was done, he started to feel peckish. Thinking about it, all this work was Zhong Yan¡¯s fault to begin with, so he dragged Zhong Yan out of his blanket to have him cook a snack for him, and only fell asleep at dawn.


    This directly led to him missing his morning alarm. If Zhong Yan hadn¡¯t come knocking on his door to wake him, he would probably have slept through the first meeting of the year.


    Adrian was still struggling to stay awake when he arrived at headquarters. But even so, he still noticed some peculiarities.


    The people in the headquarters¡¯ main building were all looking at him strangely today. Adrian walked all the way to the meeting room and was just about to ask what was going on, but unexpectedly, all the high-ranking officers inside were looking at him with inscrutable expressions as soon as he opened the door.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Adrian asked in confusion as he looked towards Fayn.


    It was as if Fayn didn¡¯t know him at all; he was looking at him with a brand-new set of eyes.


    An officer asked, ¡°Commander, have¡­have you read the news?¡±


    ¡°No, I was in a hurry this morning so I didn¡¯t get to read it. What happened?¡±


    Before anyone could answer, the door to the conference room was opened. With a frown, Adrian turned around only to see the head of the public relations department, Ping Yan, standing in the doorway with a grumpy face.


    Ping Yan was a female officer with a hot body and an even hotter temper. Adrian grumbled, ¡°What¡¯s with you? Don¡¯t you know what level this meeting is for?¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your problem?¡± Ping Yan did not think she was overstepping her boundaries at all, and even snapped back even stronger, ¡°How could you hide such big news from us? We only found out cause it got leaked out in the news so now we don¡¯t have a backup plan at all. Not a single person in the public relations department knows what to do! Come with me now. I have a few key questions prepared that I have to ask you before we can prepare a response.¡±


    ¡°What? What big news am I hiding?¡± Adrian was beginning to suspect that he was still in a dream. To think a subordinate would actually dare to speak to him like this! ¡°Whatever it is, you can talk to me after the meeting¡¯s over! You can¡¯t just barge into a meeting of the highest level, I could definitely have you¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough cough, actually, I can also preside over the start of the year meeting,¡± Fayn suddenly interrupted. ¡°Commander, why don¡¯t you head to the public relations department first? I think things there are a bit more¡­urgent.¡±


    The rest of the officers nodded in agreement.


    Adrian who had not a single idea about what was going on went out with Ping Yan. On the way, he opened his terminal to have a look at what kind of big and shocking ¡°news¡± everyone was talking about.


    The only thing that came to mind was his and Zhong Yan¡¯s outing yesterday. Didn¡¯t they just have a meal, and bought some blankets? Did that count as big news that he was trying to hide from the PR department? What else did they want? Should he have to report all his personal activities to them as well? Adrian was still feeling indignant when the news page loaded.


    ¡°Adrian Yate and Zhong Yan have an illegitimate child! The real reason why the refusal of the marriage proposal has been dragging on!¡±


    ¡°Was it unexpected, or was it planned? Analysis of Zhong Yan¡¯s trip to Navi, was the aim to reunite with his son?¡±


    ¡°Blamed for corruption, the Capital¡¯s Institute of Research released an urgent statement: No genetic fusion has been performed for any same-sex partners.¡±


    Adrian was shocked in place. ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you see the news now?¡± Ping Yan had also stopped. She stood akimbo and interrogated him, ¡°You better tell me where you made an artificial baby. Has the evidence been destroyed? How old is the child? Is it male? Female? Where were they born? Navi System or the Capital? Is that guy bringing the child with him when he leaves in a few days? Did he come to Navi to pick up his child to receive education in the capital? Besides you two, has anyone else seen the child? And who else knows about this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a child!¡± Adrian¡¯s head was buzzing as he refuted.


    ¡°Then whose child is he? Did he bear a kid with someone else?¡±


    ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t have a child either!¡±


    ¡°You adopted? Is the child not blood-related to either of you? Then that¡¯ll be easy to deal with. We can just issue a statement that-¡±


    ¡°No! There¡¯s no child at all! Where did this child thing come from? Who is pulling this nonsense out their asses?!¡±


    Ping Yan had a face as if she did not believe him in the slightest. She raised a brow. ¡°Last night, you mentioned that the child was still young when you were in the shopping district. That guy said you weren¡¯t good at raising children and even told you to take responsibility. More than just one person heard it. Do you think all these people were just gathering together to lie? And even though some heard more than others, the contents of what they heard still lines up with each other.¡±


    Adrian was speechless, ¡°I did say that, but the subject wasn¡¯t a child at all! Aren¡¯t those sentences just normal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s normal if someone else says it, but it¡¯s not normal when it¡¯s you and that guy saying it.¡± Ping Yan tried to persuade him. ¡°Just admit it, quickly, we still have to write a statement based on the facts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, recently, we were raising a¡­¡± The words ¡°giant space rabbit¡± took a detour just as it reached his lips and were shoved back down his throat. From Adrian¡¯s perspective, he would rather admit to having an illegitimate child with Zhong Yan than to admit that he was raising a soft, fluffy, giant space rabbit.


    Ping Yan urged him, ¡°Raising a¡­?¡±


    ¡°Raising a¡­a pet. Don¡¯t ask me what it is, just know that it¡¯s not a person,¡± Adrian confessed.


    Ping Yan looked at him with suspicion, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I told you not to ask!¡±


    ¡°Is it really not a child?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°It really isn¡¯t a child, Sir Yate.¡± Zhong Yan held the terminal to his ear. He sounded very sincere, but his expression was so calm that hardly any respect could be found within it.


    ¡°Make a statement to clarify the issue right now!¡± Stalvern Yate ordered at the other end, ¡°I told you to inquire for news, and instead of giving me news, you¡¯re giving me some mysterious grandchild?! You could¡¯ve started this rumor with anyone, but it just had to be with that traitorous scum!¡±


    There were no people in the room nor surveillance. A look of unconcealed anger flashed past Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes, but his words were full of obeisance, ¡°Yes, my team is already making preparations. We will set up a live broadcast immediately to clarify the rumors.¡±


    ¡°How long do you think it¡¯s been! Are they even working?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Intron has been busy with his departure from Capital Star, but the speech should be ready soon.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hang up the call,¡± Stalvern said discontentedly, ¡°Leave it on and rush them now. I¡¯m going to be supervising you personally in case you mess up as well!¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s face darkened. The speech was ready long ago, but no matter how he tried to explain, he just wanted to drag things on for a while so he and Adrian could get their stories straight. But if Stalvern insists on not allowing him to hang up, he would have no way of contacting Adrian.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve received the speech,¡± Zhong Yan pretended to have just received a message, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have them arrange for the live broadcast now.¡±


    Since that was the case, he might as well face everyone directly. He had never worried about being mismatched with Adrian when it came to fabricating stories together for outsiders anyway.


    Adrian sat in the public relations office to take on the bombings.


    Because, even if he died, he still refused to say what on earth it was that had ¡°just been born¡± that he and Zhong Yan talked about last night in the shopping district. Ping Yan and her assistant both insisted that it must be a child.


    ¡°Spare me, sis, Navi doesn¡¯t even have the technology, and the capital¡¯s research institute says they haven¡¯t done it. Where on earth would I get my genes fused with his?¡±


    Ping Yan retorted, ¡°The capital¡¯s always been corrupt, and that councilor is in a high position. It won¡¯t be hard for him to get the Genetic Research Institute to open up a back door for him.¡±


    Adrian responded powerlessly, ¡°There are limits to having those kinds of babies each year, even if Zhong Yan¡¯s a councilor, it¡¯ll still be hard to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Chief!¡± One of the staff ran in from outside and shouted towards Ping Yan, ¡± That guy is broadcasting live! He¡¯s making a live clarification on the mess! It¡¯s on his work page!¡±


    Ping Yan immediately turned to observe Adrian¡¯s face. Adrian did not seem panicked in the slightest, and met her gaze calmly; this caused her to waver subconsciously: Could it be that there¡¯s really no child? One had to know that Adrian had been with her this whole time since he found out about the news, and never contacted anyone in between that; there was no time for him to have made up an excuse with anyone.


    Adrian had great confidence in Zhong Yan¡¯s public relations ability, and also believed that the other must have a comprehensive argument, so all he had to do was give his cooperation.


    Ping Yan went onto Zhong Yan¡¯s work page on her terminal and projected the live broadcast on the wall. They took a seat in the office and watched it together.


    Zhong Yan had always kept up his well-dressed image of being suited up all the time, but now, he was only wearing loungewear. It was as if this prince that was so out of reach had suddenly become the boy next door. Before he could even officially start, there were already many fans screaming in the comments because of this never-before-seen side of him.


    Adrian could not help but feel offended, but at the same time, he felt regretful for having bought him clothes. Zhong Yan cared so much about his image, so he probably would have done an audio broadcast if he didn¡¯t have clothes.


    ¡°Since I¡¯m still recovering, I¡¯ll just make it short. I believe everyone is here to hear the truth.¡± Zhong Yan began to speak without hurry, ¡°At noon today, capital time, a piece of news was reported concerning me and Adrian Yate bearing an illegitimate child. This entire matter is a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°The day before yesterday, Mr. Yate had saved a newborn rabbit while he was on the way to discuss business with me. As everyone knows, I¡­¡± He caught the right moment to put on a light smile, ¡°have been studying these creatures for a while. So, I helped him take care of it for two days. Fortunately, the rabbit has almost made a full recovery¡­¡±


    Saying that, he bent over to pick up something, but Adrian had a bad feeling about it rising up from his guts.


    As expected, he was able to see what Zhong Yan picked up from outside of the screen in the next second: it was¡­a fluffy, soft, and snowy-white rabbit the size of a fist.


    Adrian ¡°¡­¡±


    For a moment he was unable to control his expression, but fortunately, nobody realized; all of them were focused on the little rabbit.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Ping Yan stared at the screen with sparkling eyes, her body leaning forward to take a closer look at the little rabbit in Zhong Yan¡¯s palm. Then, she turned again and said to Adrian, touched, ¡°Commander, did you save that rabbit? I didn¡¯t know you had such a sweet side to you! Oh gosh, were you too embarrassed to say it earlier? Is it your pet now?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re releasing when it gets better.¡± Adrian went along with the story Zhong Yan had made up about him with a poker face. With their many years of tacit understanding, he knew very well that there was no way that Zhong Yan would screw up his part of the story. ¡°I saw it on the side of the road and I couldn¡¯t just throw it aside. Zhong Yan needed something to do anyway. It¡¯s better than giving him the free time to investigate us.¡±


    He must be possessed! Was Zhong Yan a rabbit magnet? Where on earth did he get that rabbit? Adrian¡¯s thoughts ran wild; wasn¡¯t one rabbit enough? The giant space rabbit was too big so there was nothing he could do about it, but he had to throw this one out for sure! Otherwise, it¡¯s dinner! Definitely!

 Chapter 44 - Compassion

    The comment section of the live broadcast blew up as soon as Zhong Yan brought out the rabbit. As for what Zhong Yan said later about his apologies to the innocent Capital Research Institute, how he will take the responsibility to investigate the related media, and so on, nobody paid attention. While he spoke, the rabbit bun was moving about on his palm. Every time the rabbit moved, the comment section below would be filled with screaming.


    When Zhong Yan finished the clarification segment and entered the Q&A session, he bent over to put down the rabbit, which drew strong protests from the comments section. Zhong Yan smiled helplessly and tilted the lens slightly downwards. He said patiently, ¡°The rabbit will feel uncomfortable if I keep handling it. It¡¯s time for it to sleep.¡±


    Everyone could see the large box on the ground. Half of it was filled with blankets that were red, orange, and yellow. With how white the rabbit was, the contrast was very eye-catching when it cuddled against the blankets.


    They were all screaming about how cute the scene was in the comments section; only Adrian¡¯s mouth was twitching. He recognized the box as the box of the cleaning robot at home. The box was usually stuck in place while the cleaning robot was out, so Zhong Yan must have taken the box while the cleaning robot was out at work; he didn¡¯t even know what the cleaning robot was going to do if it returned to the storeroom to find the box missing.


    ¡°Alright, we still have ten minutes, so please ask any questions you may want to know before the time ends.¡± Zhong Yan straightened his body and turned back to the camera. With the rabbit gone, the intimate aura from his body went as well. Even though he was dressed in casual home clothes, he still sat upright with a solemn face, which made it hard for the audience to joke around.


    ¡°Firstly, my friends from various circles in society have been concerned about the progress of ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ implementation in Navi System, correct? Regarding that, the Supreme Council has always placed the interests of the Navi System¡¯s citizens at the forefront, so we need to make full considerations¡­¡±


    He began to speak his way around the questions eloquently. For the Public Relations Department, they could understand both the inner and outer implications of his words; it was a basic requirement. Ping Yan listened for a while and whispered to Adrian, ¡°Is he trying to drag things on?¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°The capital never had that plan to begin with. They haven¡¯t figured out our might, so they dare not face us directly. The Intelligence Department will catch you up to speed.¡±


    It seemed reasonable for him to say this much, but if you thought about it carefully, you would realize that it was almost equal to saying nothing.


    Zhong Yan saw a question pop up in the comments section.


    May I ask why Counselor Zhong Yan has taken this long to divorce Commander Yate?


    ¡°Strictly speaking, even though the fine was under ¡®divorce-related fines¡¯, we¡¯re still not married yet.¡± He responded with a few sentences to drag on the time. But at the lower-left corner, a small video frame that only he could see was playing. His assistant team had finished typing out a good answer key for him. ¡°Respect ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ decision. You do not know why Yate is not paying.¡±


    Indeed, that was the safest answer for his position, but the times are different now.


    The era of the nation¡¯s belief in artificial intelligence was about to undergo earth-shaking changes. The assistant was not sure which direction the trend would go, but Zhong Yan could not be clearer.


    Or perhaps, you could say that he had decided on a direction and was set on pushing towards the era to that direction himself, so he could not answer in that way right now in case it was used against him in the future. What¡¯s more, it also went against his own personal agenda. He needed an intriguing enough reply to draw everyone¡¯s attention towards a different direction.


    ¡°I do not have many communications with Mr. Yate so I¡¯m not sure what his thoughts are. But as for me personally¡­¡± Zhong Yan spoke in a natural tone, ¡°The fine is too heavy for me, that¡¯s all.¡±


    The audience was in awe.


    ¡°So it¡¯s really because you can¡¯t afford the fines? How high is the fine?¡±


    ¡°Is it that the two of them cannot afford the normal fine, or can one of them not afford the five-fold fine?¡±


    ¡°What kind of joke is this? How high can a divorce penalty be? Wouldn¡¯t it be a hundred thousand at most? Five times would only be five hundred thousand.¡±


    ¡°I think he really can¡¯t afford five hundred thousand. Didn¡¯t they say that Councilor Zhong Yan¡¯s house in the Capital is rented?¡±


    ¡°Does that mean¡­he has the intention to refuse? He must be crazy, refusing ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposals less than two years after joining the council? Is he trying to kill his own career?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s going to be following down Vahl Cayman¡¯s footsteps. Is he not thinking clearly?¡±


    ¡°Seems like he really hates Yate.¡±


    Ping Yan watched Adrian¡¯s reaction. There was a change in his expression as if there was some confusion, but before she could take a good look, a knock sounded from the door.


    ¡°Enter,¡± said Adrian.


    The soldier saluted him and said, ¡°Commander, the adjutant is in the Intelligence Department. Please go take a look, there¡¯s news from the capital.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be heading off.¡± Adrian stressed to Ping Yan, ¡°About the absence of the child, I¡¯ll leave it to you to deal with.¡±


    ¡°You should actually upload some photos of that rabbit to your page.¡± Ping Yan stood up to see him off, and suggested, ¡°It¡¯ll be good for improving your image. Those of us from the inside know that you¡¯re very approachable, but according to this year¡¯s survey, especially from other star systems, there are some people who¡¯ve misunderstood you as someone who¡¯s too stiff and grim. We¡¯re going to be coming out of Navi soon after all¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let them think what they want. If I got myself a wolf, I¡¯d take pictures of it every day, but a rabbit¡­¡± Adrian recalled the soft creature with a complete lack of combat ability and was completely unable to accept being linked with a pet like this. He continued firmly, ¡°Just forget it.¡±


    ¡°Gines has already departed from the capital,¡± said Fayn as soon as Adrian entered the room. ¡°There¡¯s no problem if we arrange to meet him on White Aegis, is there? Gines passed us a message through ¡®Specimen¡¯. They¡¯re moving through the official route and will arrive at the border in three days, afternoon local time. When that time comes, we can interview Gines, and if nothing unexpected happens, they can make their landing. On the next day, that guy will depart with them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll work, make the arrangements.¡± Adrian went on, ¡°Is there anything to report from the meeting earlier?¡±


    ¡°Besides everyone discussing enthusiastically at the end about the news between you and him, nothing else happened. The recorder should be able to send you the full recording immediately.¡± Saying that, Fayn could no longer hold his expression together; stifling back a laugh, he asked, ¡°Is it true? You saved a little rabbit? And you¡¯re even taking care of it? Hahahaha! What the hell, is this overflowing compassion? Or the tenderness of an iron heart?¡±


    He could no longer stop himself after saying that. He began to beat the table in a burst of laughter and was completely unable to take in Adrian¡¯s explanations, ¡°I didn¡¯t! Zhong Yan¡¯s taking care of it! It¡¯s got nothing to do with me!¡±


    It was right of him not to have said anything about the giant space rabbit. With a straight face, Adrian thought about his best friend¡¯s betrayal; if this guy were to find out that he had brought home a giant space rabbit out of a moment of impulse, and even raised it, he would seriously be made fun of till his hair turned white.


    He had to raise a wolf. A fierce one. The fiercer the better.


    Going back to the topic, where on earth did Zhong Yan whip out a normal white rabbit from?


    When Adrian returned home this evening, Zhong Yan was still dealing with work. It was the first working day of the new year, so there was a lot to do to begin with, but he still had to spend some time to deal with unexpected emergencies. What¡¯s more, one of his two assistants was deprived of his terminal as he was put under confinement in White Aegis, while the other had boarded a spaceship and was now sailing around the universe.


    The box of the sweeping robot was placed right beside Zhong Yan¡¯s feet. Adrian walked over and opened the lid. The palm-sized white rabbit was sleeping inside.


    He picked it up and the rabbit trembled. It woke up and kicked its feet uneasily in the air.


    ¡°God, what are you doing?¡± Zhong Yan discovered Adrian¡¯s atrocities in time, and quickly set his work down to snatch the rabbit back from his hands.


    It was actually alive¡­he thought it was just a simulation. Adrian watched as Zhong Yan carefully pacified the rabbit in his hands with gentle strokes, and asked, ¡°Where¡¯d you get this little rabbit from?¡±


    Zhong Yan asked in turn, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell me where you brought that big rabbit from?¡±


    ¡°Those are two different things,¡± Adrian said, ¡°You¡¯re in my territory, and you¡¯ve suddenly pulled a rabbit out of thin air. How could I not worry? I¡­hold on, what¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the cleaning robot¡­¡± Zhong Yan responded awkwardly, ¡°I took its box and turned it into a rabbit nest, so it¡¯s been going in circles in the storeroom this whole time. I tried to turn it off but it didn¡¯t work¡­¡±


    ¡°That thing has to be turned off from my terminal,¡± said Adrian, speechless. ¡°I¡¯ll give you authorization for the cleaning robot. Now you don¡¯t have to be bothered about it not cleaning certain spots.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Well, when are you going to return the box?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other boxes? I couldn¡¯t find one. A smaller one is fine too, I just need to stuff the blankets in since we already bought some.¡±


    Adrian looked at him incredulously, then at the rabbit in his hands. ¡°You¡¯re not really thinking of raising that, are you? I¡¯m telling you now, you better return that. I¡¯m not raising no rabbit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it away in a few days.¡± Zhong Yan put the calmed rabbit softly back into its box and said, ¡°Speaking of which, Intron has already departed. He¡¯ll arrive in about 4 days.¡±


    In actuality, he will arrive in just three days. Adrian was unperturbed, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll tell the guys at the border to lead them to White Aegis¡¯ landing, and I¡¯ll send you off in four days.¡±


    ¡°When I go¡­if it¡¯s not convenient, I can take the giant space rabbit with me. If you can arrange a larger, empty spaceship, you can put it in. I¡¯ve already checked, there¡¯s a rather large giant space rabbit research center two star systems away from here.¡± Zhong Yan carefully persuaded, ¡°See, if I go, you¡¯re also¡­um¡­not quite fond of it, so you might as well send it off¡­what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t go on because Adrian was staring at him, and it was giving him goosebumps.


    Adrian raged forth, ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started. What on earth kind of shitty story did you make up? What¡¯s the difference between raising a 4-inch rabbit or a 23-foot rabbit? Everyone¡¯s been praising me for my compassion every time they see me today!¡±


    ¡°Because you have more leeway when raising a 4-inch rabbit, but a 23-foot rabbit is a protected animal. What¡¯s more, the way you obtained it was illegal!¡± Zhong Yan huffed, ¡°I made such short work of getting a rabbit in a hurry, making up a good story, making a nest for it, and covered up the fact that you¡¯ve violated the ¡®anti-hunting law¡¯. I even helped you establish a good image, but you¡¯re not appreciative of it at all!¡±


    But I got it through legal channels! I don¡¯t want this kind of image! Adrian could practically feel himself spitting blood. But no matter what, he would never tell Zhong Yan how he got the rabbit, so he could only grit his teeth. ¡°Send it away? Don¡¯t even think about it, I¡¯m hiring a chef and turning it into braised rabbit as soon as you leave.¡±

 Chapter 45 - Informant

    As expected, several mainstream media outlets that were in close contact with the Supreme Council began to criticize the remarks Zhong Yan made during the day.


    Saying that he could not afford the fines implied that he was prepared to refuse to begin with. For a councilor, this was a rather unusual statement.


    Adrian called out to Zhong Yan when he was passing by the living room, ready to go to bed.


    ¡°Why did you say that today?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhong Yan responded casually, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it? Giant space rabbits are illegal, but normal rabbits aren¡¯t.¡±


    Adrian turned off his terminal screen and looked at him. ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about. You were busy earlier. I bet you were trying to appease the forces behind you and also using this to test your colleagues, right?¡±


    Zhong Yan did not deny it. He nodded, ¡°This is a good chance to test them. I¡¯ll get to re-examine the cards in my hands and decide which ones can be used, and which ones to discard.


    ¡°There¡¯s no turning back once you start,¡± said Adrian, words laced with intent. ¡°Are you trying to show your sincerity?¡±


    ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s good if this is of any reassurance of you. If I defect after my return to the Capital, and turn towards the AI side in the oncoming changes, you can easily destroy my reputation since you have recordings of me leaking private information during the meeting. There was no turning back for me in the first place. I still haven¡¯t planned to exit the stage of history yet, so you don¡¯t have to be worried about my sincerity.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you decide to choose a road so different from what you chose in the beginning, after so many years?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already discussed this issue.¡± Zhong Yan evaded the question.


    ¡°To protect your seat?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°I¡¯ve always felt that this wasn¡¯t enough motivation to push you towards gambling everything. I know how you are.¡±


    Zhong Yan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he just shook his head in the end. ¡°You can¡¯t ask me to disclose my full plans to you. You¡¯ve never revealed your military secrets to me either, right? Our current demands are the same, so this is enough to achieve a cooperation. There¡¯s no need for us to share everything. That there is the real risk.¡±


    Adrian still felt uneasy, but he managed to overcome his desire to ask¡ªHe himself was also clear that he would never ask his partners to reveal their full decks. He did not even care about a secretive organization such as ¡°Specimen¡±, but it was only because it was Zhong Yan; that brand of betrayal was engraved deep in his heart, so subconsciously, he felt the desire to demand it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you,¡± Adrian said. But he did not have any intentions of asking further.


    Zhong Yan could feel a dull throb in his heart. It was not a strong sting, but it was just like Adrian¡¯s tone; it only existed. Without any change in his countenance, he nodded calmly. ¡°As you should. Goodnight.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Three days later. White Aegis.


    Intron walked down the gangway and looked curiously around at the legendary planet. The guards led him to the front passenger seat of the car sent over to receive him. After getting in the driver¡¯s seat, the guard looked curiously at the young man from the corner of his eye.


    Intron had short, curly brown hair, and he wore a pair of glasses. On the surface, he looked pure and harmless; but the guard knew full well that this young man was not just a simple assistant to a councilor.


    And he knew because he was the newly appointed personal guard to Navi¡¯s military commander.


    The person this young man was about to meet was the leader of Navi System who had come secretly himself, Adrian Yate.


    ¡°Intron Gines?¡± A third voice suddenly sounded from the back seat of the car.


    Intron was startled. He raised his head to look at the rear-view mirror; a man was seated at the back. From the darkness, the view of his face was blurred, but his silver eyes were glowing.


    Intron quickly reacted and spoke with great respect. ¡°Greetings, Commander Yate.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Gines,¡± Adrian spoke. ¡°Must have been a terribly long trip.¡±


    ¡°No no, it was fine,¡± Intron responded humbly. Following that, he asked curiously, ¡°Where¡­are we heading to?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere in particular. You¡¯ve taken a long trip here as Councilor Zhong Yan¡¯s right-hand man, so we¡¯ve arranged for you to have a tour of White Aegis to enjoy the scenery. We¡¯ll bring you back to your ship after we take a look around.¡±


    Intron understood, he intended to talk to him in the car. Indeed, it would be quite suspicious to bring him anywhere at all. The survival of ¡°Specimen¡± relied on being cautious and low-key. Intron was grateful, ¡°I appreciate your thoughtfulness, this is the best arrangement. In that case, let¡¯s not waste time and get right into it. I have two main purposes for coming here today.¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°I am listening.¡±


    ¡°Firstly, it is about the information requested by the Navi Military Command half a month ago, regarding ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ changes.¡± Intron turned on his terminal and pushed up his glasses. ¡°We have verified it urgently with our informant. Regarding the plans with Navi, including next year¡¯s¡­oh, sorry, it¡¯s this year now. Including the ¡®Glory Order¡¯ that was going to be implemented this year, it¡¯s all real. But it¡¯s too difficult to pass information outside of the Navi System. We could not pass on some of the information we collected on the Supreme Council, so I had to come over myself. I¡¯ve already written everything down on paper while I was on my way. I¡¯ll hand it to you personally when we return to my ship.¡±


    Adrian responded, ¡°Alright. Intron¡ªyou don¡¯t mind me calling you by name, do you?¡±


    Intron quickly shook his head. ¡°It is my honor, Commander.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you some personal questions. If it goes against the rules of your organization, you do not have to answer.¡± Adrian slowly began, ¡°You¡¯ve been with Zhong Yan for about¡­two years now?¡±


    ¡°About to be, sir.¡±


    ¡°Was it by chance that you picked him?¡±


    Intron hesitated for a few seconds before responding, ¡°No. He has a high enough position and was young enough. Only by his side am I able to achieve the highest possible position and access as much information as possible.¡±


    Adrian tried to probe, ¡°No other reasons? For example¡­did you know that he had a live broadcast on the day you departed?¡±


    ¡°I did know. I still had signal then, so I watched it. I headed to a service area on the way here and caught up with the follow-up news. What are you asking for?¡±


    ¡°He seems to have changed his position,¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°We have not conducted any personal investigations against Sir Zhong,¡± Intron said cautiously, ¡°In my opinion, he has never privately disclosed his thoughts on the current setup either, so I can not make any judgments.¡±


    ¡°Zhong Yan is one of the twelve representative members of the council. Did you actually not collect any intelligence on his position at all?¡± Adrian asked, ¡°What if he could be won over?¡±


    ¡°Our founders and leaders are very cautious,¡± Intron responded.¡± It¡¯s dangerous to contact a council member. As for information collecting, investigations, and influencing the public opinion¡­that is up to our leaders to decide. We will not act arbitrarily before receiving any orders. Even if I get along well with Sir Zhong, I still will not do more than I am asked if the order is not given.¡±


    Adrian sighed, ¡°No wonder you were able to hide so well. It¡¯s been two years. Does the Capital not know of your existence?¡±


    Intron looked at the rearview mirror, and a faint change could be seen in his countenance, but he did not make any retorts.


    ¡°It¡¯s been more than two years?¡± Adrian was able to catch the faint change in his expression.


    Intron smiled politely to him. ¡°That specimen shop you went into in Institution Star nearly a month ago¡­I was working there when I was in my third year. Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t say anything more.¡±


    ¡°I was the one asking too much,¡± said Adrian. Intron was three batches below him and Zhong Yan; so to say, ¡®Specimen¡¯ was already formed three years after their graduation. It has been more than four years now.


    In less than five years, their members were able to penetrate into the top positions of various important institutions¡­The founder of the organization himself definitely would not be low either, and he most likely held a high position within Capital Star.


    Could he be among the Twelve? Zhong Yan had once told him very honestly that those who had direct contact with ¡°Butterfly¡± were the successive members of council; and what Intron brought him just happened to be some of the most secretive information regarding ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    ¡°With your rank in the Supreme Council¡­are you able to access the contents of the ¡®Glory Order¡¯?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Intron let out a chuckle ¡°There are no more than ten people right now within the Supreme Council that know the general contents of the ¡®Glory Order¡¯. I suspect that not even Sir Zhong knows about this matter. After all, he is not one of Sir Pearson¡¯s confidants.¡±


    Intron actually believed that Zhong Yan had no idea about the ¡°Glory Order¡±? Adrian¡¯s mind started to churn; Bayer was the eyes and ears of Stalvern. Zhong Yan was averse to him, and it was understandable that he hid many things from him, but Intron was his own after all; he was the right-hand man Zhong Yan chose himself, so it was reasonable to say that he led all the other men beneath him, and also did the intelligence work. In other words¡­the source of Zhong Yan¡¯s news was not his men from the Supreme Council?


    He temporarily brushed off the question and continued to ask Intron, ¡°So, have any of your members reached¡­the position of representative member?¡±


    ¡°This is the second purpose of my trip,¡± Intron explained, ¡°Not everyone willing to help our cause are our members, this is not realistic. Take for example, lecturers and teachers all have jobs. They are only providing us with some information when we request it, so they are our informants. But of course, they could also be members, but there are rules. It is forbidden to ask each other about their identity even if it was someone above or under them, just like how the ones under me may also believe that I am just an informant working within the Supreme Council, but I am in fact, one of the earliest members.¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°So you have a representative member as an informant. At least he is one.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Intron admitted. ¡°And he wishes to see you.¡±


    Adrian raised a brow, ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°He is in Navi right now.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s heart suddenly jumped. A representative member in Navi? But Intron had clearly just said that Zhong Yan¡­


    ¡°Commander Yate,¡± Intron said solemnly. ¡°Councilor Vahl Cayman is on the ship, and he hopes you can take the time to see him.¡±

 Chapter 46 - Specimen Ban

    When he was young, Adrian¡¯s favorite adult was definitely Vahl Cayman.


    There were just those few big families within the upper echelons of the capital, so they would often meet during parties. This uncle, who had no blood relationship with him, would often secretly bring him snacks that children liked to eat. Adrian¡¯s grandfather did not like this young colleague of his and warned Adrian many times not to talk to such people, but this, in turn, served to arouse Adrian¡¯s rebelliousness. As long as he had the chance, he would try to talk to Vahl as often as possible. Vahl would not reprimand his outspoken and childish thoughts in harsh tones like Stalvern did, but would instead encourage him kindly, or coax him patiently.


    The only time Vahl spoke harshly to him was when he was thirteen. He had a fight with the older kids in his school and was photographed by the patrol cameras. The parents of several of the participating students were asked to come discuss the incident with the school. Adrian knew what Stalvern¡¯s temper was like; he would definitely fly into a rage on the spot. He did not wish to lose face in front of the other students, so he lied that something happened to his grandfather and called Vahl to come instead.


    Sure enough, Vahl protected the boy¡¯s pride. He rushed over with the other parents, and after listening to the matter, not only did he not reprimand him like the parents did with their children, he even said without a care, ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything wrong with what Adrian has done.¡±


    Vahl had no rights to speak at the round table, but that was a matter within the inner workings of the Supreme Council so outsiders did not know much of it. The other parents were scared of his status as a council member and did not even dare to talk back to him, while the teacher had been in disbelief. ¡°Sir Cayman! Mr. Yate has wounded two of his seniors!¡±


    ¡°So you mean to say that two sixteen-year-old kids tried to bully a thirteen-year-old, and got beaten up instead by said thirteen-year-old?.¡± Then, they could hear him speaking casually to Adrian. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong then, Adrian. How could you be so harsh with your seniors? You need to give your seniors some face. Apologize.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, seniors, I¡¯ll go easy on you next time,¡± said Adrian, following his advice.


    The two sixteen-year-old senior students were so angry that their faces were flushed red with fury. The complexions of their parents also changed. The teacher would never have expected a proper council member like him to be so blatant in showing his favoritism. She was just about to say something, but Vahl went on, ¡°Alright, he¡¯s already apologized. So, Miss¡­¡±


    ¡°¡®Butterfly¡¯ is about to be implemented in its 51st and 52nd star systems soon. Everyone knows this. Roundtable meetings are becoming more frequent, so Sir Yate has to be relied on for many things. The children have only gotten into a small conflict with their fellow schoolmates¡­so you shouldn¡¯t disturb him for such a matter now, right? How about this. I¡¯ll bring this boy home, and I¡¯ll have him reflect on what he did today. Then, we¡¯ll just see this as the end of this matter. Is that alright?¡±


    He spoke slowly, but his words show no acceptance of refusals; the teacher could only nod and let them go.


    Adrian really believed with all of his heart that Vahl really thought him as blameless, and he even told him on the way out of school excitedly how he taught those two seniors who had come to provoke him a good lesson¡­he would never have expected Vahl to drop the facade once they reached the car, and ask him seriously, ¡°Adrian, do you feel proud of yourself for winning over those two seniors in a fight?¡±


    This was the very first time Vahl had ever spoken to him so harshly. Adrian was stunned, and nodded hesitantly.


    ¡°You clearly agreed to having a one-on-one fight, but the other party brought two people. They never wanted to have a proper fight with you at all. They wanted to teach you a lesson!¡±


    ¡°So what if they brought two people? I won!¡± protested Adrian. At thirteen, he was unconvinced he did anything wrong.


    ¡°Have you thought about this then? If that boy wasn¡¯t sure of your strength, he might have called another person. Do you think you could win if there were three? What about five? Ten? What if they brought weapons? It¡¯s very dangerous for you to rush headfirst into things like that. You were lucky today because your opponents were foolish, and their hearts were not completely corrupted! Adrian, you should be more cautious about your own safety. It pained me to hear from your teacher that you had gotten hurt. Your mother didn¡¯t give you your life just so you could go on such risky ventures.¡±


    Nobody has ever told Adrian that seeing him hurt pained them. Adrian raised his head and looked at the profile of the middle-aged man who was driving and muttered, ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, your grandfather is probably going to be back late today, so I¡¯ll send you home for now. Then, I¡¯ll head back to school later to get this wiped from your record. It won¡¯t leave a big impact, but¡­it¡¯s a fierce competition, getting into the Supreme Institution. ¡®Butterfly¡¯ will be doing a full evaluation of your school performance, so it¡¯s best to stay on the safe side.¡±


    ¡°Wiped?¡± Adrian said, ¡°We learned in school that all the cameras are ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ eyes. He won¡¯t forget after seeing it, would he?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten what your uncle works as,¡± Vahl chuckled, ¡°This is just a small matter. It can be wiped, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Adrian raised his voice, ¡°I¡¯m not worried, but how could the records be wiped? Doesn¡¯t AI represent absolute justice? If humans can change the records, then what¡¯s the meaning of its existence?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as absolute justice in this world, Adrian. However, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ has indeed become the closest to that standard. Many things may have come from good intentions, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But those good intentions can¡¯t have been all that good, right?¡± Adrian pouted. ¡°Since there¡¯s no such thing as absolute justice, why did they have to forcefully make one?¡±


    Vahl was stunned by this child who was only thirteen this year. After being immersed in the world of officials for so long, he found himself unable to answer for a short moment.


    ¡°Uncle Vahl, being cautious is not a solution either. It can¡¯t solve our problems.¡± Adrian continued, ¡°The only way to solve our problems is to get stronger. When I¡¯m strong enough, so strong that I don¡¯t have to care whether my opponent is one person or ten, then they¡¯ll never dare to pick a fight with me at all.¡±


    ¡°That is what we call a deterrence, but I wasn¡¯t trying to teach you that¡­¡± Vahl didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry at his answer, and a funny idea crossed his mind.


    This child had the makings of a general. Even though every star system has military commands situated in one or more planets, going to war had long existed only in the history books. Ever since humans had come together to form a federation, peace had been maintained for many centuries. When thinking about the coming years, a real war fought with guns and ammunition was quite unlikely to occur.


    At that time, Vahl would never have imagined that in just a short decade or so, the smoke of trouble would rise up once more for the Federation.


    The frenzied comments of the public were unstoppable, and thousands upon thousands of ordinary civilians now had the guts to speak out for themselves, all in support of the Navi Military Command that was in distant confrontation with the Capital. That boy who said that ¡°becoming strong was the true solution to problems¡± has now grown into a man who the Capital has to avoid provoking.


    Adrian had not seen this uncle of his who treated him so sincerely for many years. Since entering the Supreme Institution, and announcing his stance, he never took the initiative to contact Vahl. Later, the situation became more and more tense, so there were even less chances for the two to talk. He always thought of Vahl as the one man in his life who truly played the role of a father. Even though they did not have frequent contact, it was Vahl who taught him tolerance and growth..rights and wrongs¡­love and hate. Meanwhile, all Stalvern could instill in him was the family¡¯s honor and dignity.


    It was undoubtedly a very fortunate thing that he was able to reunite with Vahl in this situation now, and to know that he was in the same camp as himself.


    ¡°Commander Yate,¡± Vahl spoke. He had not been able to continue when Adrian immediately said, ¡°Uncle Vahl, please, there¡¯s no need for such formalities between us.¡±


    ¡°Councilor Caymon, Sir Yate, please continue your chat. I will return to my room first,¡± Intron excused himself. Adrian told his guard to escort him back.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t send away the only guard you brought.¡± Vahl disagreed with his actions. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for you to stay alone here if I were to have any ill intentions.¡±


    Adrian couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Uncle, please spare me. You¡¯ve been nagging me since I was young. It¡¯s been nearly ten years since we last met and you¡¯re already starting.¡±


    As he brought up the past, the distance that came from not having seen each other for many years melted a little. Vahl¡¯s lips were curled up in elation, but he still said sternly, ¡°In these years, ¡®Specimen¡¯ has repeatedly warned you to be wary of the intentions of anyone from the Supreme Council.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the warnings that Pearson is vying for my life?¡± Adrian disregarded it completely. ¡°You don¡¯t have to remind me. I know full well that he can¡¯t wait for me to die. Which radical supporter of AI does not want my life? But they¡¯ll need the capabilities to get it.¡±


    Vahl was dissatisfied. ¡°Adrian.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. I do have my defenses up against people from the Supreme Council, really. Just look at Bayer, and¡­Zhong Yan. I¡¯ve put them under house arrest.¡±


    Vahl said, ¡°Speaking of Zhong Yan, your fines will be expiring tomorrow, right? What happened? If you¡¯re having any financial difficulties, I can¡­¡±


    ¡°No no, my financials are fine. Well¡­just leave that alone.¡± Adrian didn¡¯t want to talk to others about his bad debt with Zhong Yan, especially with his own elder. It was too awkward.


    ¡°°¬µÂÀï°²£¬ÄãºÍÎÒ½»¸öµ×¡­¡­ÄãÊÇÏë½áÕâ¸ö»éÂ𣿱𲻺ÃÒâ˼£¬»éÒöÊÇÒ»±²×ÓµÄÊ£¬ÄÄÅÂÊÇ¡¯µû¡¯È϶¨µÄ×îÓÅ°éÂÂÓÖÔõôÑù£¿Äã×Ô¼ºÖªµÀÄãÊÇ˳Ӧ×Ô¼ºµÄÐÄÒ⣬Õâ¾Í¹»ÁË£¬ÈËÉúÑ¡Ôñ×ÔÓÉ£¬Õâ²»ÕýÊÇÄãËùΪ֮·Ü¶·µÄ¡ª¡ª¡±


    ¡°Adrian, tell me clearly¡­do you want to get married? Don¡¯t be embarrassed about it. A marriage is a matter of a lifetime. So what if ¡®Butterfly¡¯ assigned a partner to you? If you know you¡¯re following your heart, then that¡¯s enough. To choose freedom in life, hasn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve been fighting for¡ª¡±


    ¡°Uncle, what are you saying? I don¡¯t want to marry him,¡± Adrian quickly interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ll pay the fines tomorrow. Time is limited, so let¡¯s talk about the important things. I¡¯ve always felt that someone from high above is operating ¡®Specimen¡¯. I should¡¯ve known it was you early on, from the cautious style of¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Me?¡± After hearing half of it, Vahl realized something was wrong, and quickly denied it, ¡°Adrian, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I¡¯m not ¡®Specimen¡¯s¡¯ founder, nor the leader. I¡¯m just their informant.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t you?¡± Adrian frowned. ¡°Then, do you have any clues? Time waits for no one. If we can work more closely with ¡®Specimen¡¯ that will be a great help. But before that, I really want to meet the founder myself.¡±


    Vahl shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know much either. This organization operates with one-to-one contact, so I¡¯m afraid only a handful of the senior members know the leader¡¯s identity. I¡¯ve been their informant for two years, and Intron is my minor. Him entering the Supreme Council was also done with my help as well. As for the founder, he is probably only in contact with the people directly under him, and he has only issued direct orders to the entire ¡®Specimen¡¯ organization twice since its inception. The first are the rules set at the beginning of its establishment. We are not allowed to infiltrate into the higher levels of Navi¡¯s rung, and we must never set foot on Navi System. At that time, you were already beginning to climb the ranks over the others. I think this may be to show respect for the pioneer from the same camp. The second one is very strange, and it was only issued about half a month ago.¡±


    ¡°Half a month ago?¡± A strange hunch arose in Adrian¡¯s heart. He suddenly remembered that he had personally contacted the organization nearly a month ago. At that time, outside of the specimen shop, he met¡­


    ¡°The order required all specimen stores to make immediate rectifications, all specimens of furry animals had to be removed.¡± Vahl retold the incident in confusion. ¡°What do you think that means?¡±

 Chapter 47 - Different Paths

    Adrian had originally planned to stay the night in White Aegis before returning to Navi¡¯s capital the next day to pick up Zhong Yan, but he rushed back home in the middle of the night.


    Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t in the house, so Adrian walked out into the back yard.


    The giant space rabbit kit was laying on its side on the grass, while Zhong Yan was sitting on its back. There was also a small rabbit bun on his shoulder, which was the normal rabbit kit from before.


    Both the rabbits were sleeping, and Zhong Yan was daydreaming with his head raised to gaze at the stars in the sky.


    ¡°Zhong Yan.¡±


    Hearing his call, Zhong Yan who sat atop the rabbit¡¯s back lowered his head, and with an expression as calm as spring water, he said, ¡°Have you met up with Cayman? Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯t coming back tonight?¡±


    He had already found out. But that was normal. Before he left in a hurry, when he was confirming about the prohibitions with Intron, his actions were passed onto Zhong Yan through several people, so naturally, Zhong Yan had already known.


    ¡°Your information moves fast,¡± Adrian said.


    Zhong Yan lowered his head. ¡°It is directly proportional to the time and money I¡¯ve invested in it.¡±


    Adrian had a lot of things he wanted to ask, but when he saw the rabbit bun curling up on Zhong Yan¡¯s shoulders, his gaze suddenly focused, and he asked, ¡°Where did that rabbit on your shoulder come from?¡±


    Zhong Yan chuffed softly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is something I asked the steakhouse owner to help me buy.¡±


    ¡°When did you pull the steakhouse owner to your side?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so bad. When I went back to get my scarf, I had a talk with the boss that day, and we stayed in contact with each other is all.¡± Zhong Yan took the little white bunny from his shoulder, holding it in his palms, and stroked its fur. ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone in Navi. As far as I¡¯m aware, none of the people sent by the Supreme Council have succeeded either, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I know. They told me today. ¡®Specimen¡¯ has a special rule not to touch Navi.¡± Adrian stood a few steps away from the giant rabbit kit, and though his voice was not loud, it could be heard unusually clear in the quiet night. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°¡®Specimen¡¯ is an organization dedicated to overthrowing the rule of artificial intelligence. Its key direction was naturally to infiltrate the Capital where the AI¡¯s main body resided. Why would I snoop around for my friendlies¡¯ information?¡±


    Adrian stood quietly on the ground as he looked up to observe him. After meeting his gaze for a few seconds, Zhong Yan said, ¡°Fine. It¡¯s because I know you hate things like that. Once you find out that somebody has been planting people by your side, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll ever be able to work with you in the future.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not a coincidence that we met outside of Specimen.¡± Adrian went on, ¡°it was you who bought the store after the juice shop closed down.¡±


    ¡°The juice shop did not close down, I bought it over at a high price.¡± Zhong Yan moved his gaze away, looking straight ahead. ¡°It¡¯s been seven years, I couldn¡¯t contact you, but I finally had a chance to meet you in person, so I went there to wait for you.¡±


    ¡°And if I didn¡¯t accept the invitation? If I didn¡¯t attend?¡±


    ¡°You would. If you didn¡¯t accept the invitation, you would have soon received ¡®Specimen¡¯s¡¯ message, informing you that we hope that you will come personally to take the name list. If you refused, I would have arranged for one of the core members to head to the school¡¯s stronghold and tell you that the organization¡¯s senior members would like to personally meet with you. If you were still hesitant, I would continue to increase the bargaining chips until you agree to participate in the celebration.¡±


    ¡°Just to see me?¡±


    ¡°Just to see you.¡±


    Adrian asked, ¡°So why didn¡¯t you tell me after we met?¡±


    ¡°For what purpose?¡± Zhong Yan looked at him once more, and asked in turn, ¡°So that you can cut off your contact with ¡®Specimen¡¯? I understand you too well. You don¡¯t like when people set up the winds from the back. The only reason you tolerated those illegitimate means is because you felt that the starting point of the organization was right. People who accomplish big things don¡¯t trip over the small things after all. But if you find out that the leader of this underground resistance organization was me, and since I don¡¯t care whether humans are free or not, would you still continue working with us?¡±


    ¡°This is exactly what I came back to confirm with you. I asked you why you came to Navi before, and you said it was because ¡®Butterfly¡¯ and Pearson are working together to threaten your position, but ¡®Specimen¡¯ was established many years before you even discovered the changes with ¡®Butterfly¡¯. You have been plotting to overthrow ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ rule since a long time ago. Why?¡± Adrian enunciated each word as he asked, ¡°What are you trying to achieve?¡±


    Zhong Yan did not respond to him immediately. He returned the sleeping rabbit bun in his palm back onto his shoulder, while he stood up on the back of the giant rabbit. He turned his gaze to the starry sky above him and sighed almost tenderly. ¡°The stars are so beautiful, only when you stand this high can you see the beauty of the scenery.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s pupils constricted. He asked in a heavy voice, ¡°Are you not standing high enough?¡±


    Standing atop the giant rabbit¡¯s back, Zhong Yan lowered his eyes down to look upon Adrian from above. He held up a hand to his ribs¡ªAdrian knew, right there was a shameful scar, and it was something left behind from Zhong Yan¡¯s unfortunate childhood.


    ¡°It¡¯s not high enough. The so-called twelve people at the peak of power aren¡¯t even standing on equal grounds. Even if we were¡­that is still not the peak. The peak is when you stand beneath just one, but above all others.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was very gentle. If the picture at this moment could be fixed in time, nobody would ever be able to think that what he was revealing at this moment, with that peaceful smile on his beautiful face, were words that contained human¡¯s greatest ambitions in this great era, in the vast Federation that consisted of thousands of planets. ¡°It¡¯s too crowded for twelve people to stand together. I want the highest position that no one else can have.¡±


    Even if it was Adrian, he was still caught speechless for a moment. With the giant rabbit laying on its side, Zhong Yan walked down from its hind legs and walked around the rabbit towards the direction of the house.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside,¡± Zhong Yan said as he passed Adrian.


    Adrian followed silently behind him. When the two returned inside, Zhong Yan put the sleeping little rabbit from his shoulder lightly into the box. Then, he sat on the sofa opposite to Adrian.


    As soon as he sat down, Adrian started to revolt, ¡°You tricked them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve deceived everyone in this world besides you. Who are you talking about?¡±


    No remorse could be seen from him at all. Adrian pressed down his anger and said, ¡°Those passionate people from ¡®Specimen¡¯. You used them to achieve your own selfish desires! They work so hard because they think they¡¯re overthrowing the AI, but they¡¯re actually helping you climb the ranks!¡±


    ¡°I do wish to rise up, but the premise of that is that the position can be taken up by humans in the first place. This isn¡¯t about deceiving them or not, ¡®Specimen¡¯ has been established for more than four years, everything they¡¯ve done was for the sake of pushing towards human autonomy. And once that dream is realized,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°Someone will have to rise up.¡±


    ¡°And it shouldn¡¯t be you.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be me?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re not fit for it!¡± Adrian spat out sharply, ¡°You don¡¯t have the world in your heart, no righteousness, all you have is your own selfish desires!¡±


    Zhong Yan was silent for a moment, but he suddenly said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too harsh on me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Adrian repeated incredulously, ¡°I am too harsh on you?¡±


    Zhong Yan took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been in the Supreme Council for seven years, and I¡¯ve never done anything to betray the world. I¡¯ve never done anything unrighteous. If one day, I could sit on that position, I would definitely work hard for it. A saint is crowned for the work they do, not their desires, and you¡¯re asking me to be even more of a saint than a messiah! As long as the leader can manage his territory well, and benefit his people, what¡¯s the difference if the leader¡¯s heart is filled with his love for the world or for power? What difference is there whether his motives are for the sake of humanity, or just to consolidate his position?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different,¡± Adrian said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s everything that¡¯s different about it.¡±


    The look in Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes had also cooled. Sitting there, the expression on his face gradually faded, leaving only a flawless mask behind. He spoke softly, ¡°And so what? You¡¯ll be the only one to know in this world. If big things can be achieved, and it comes time to count the merits, I would naturally¡­take it as an obligation.¡±


    Adrian sneered, ¡°Zhong Yan, you once told me I was naive, but I don¡¯t know which of us is worse in that regard¡ªDo you really think that you can overthrow the system that has ruled human society for hundreds of years with just your play of intrigue alone? And then safely transition yourself into power? What we¡¯re talking about is to completely subvert an era, not the position of Student Council President that you and those senior brothers and sisters contended for in the Supreme Institution! Didn¡¯t you come to investigate Navi¡¯s military? It seems that in any case, we are on the same boat for the following, limited period of time. Since you¡¯ve come clean with me, I will come clean to you as well. Not long ago, Navi System has already ceased to exist.¡±


    Zhong Yan was shocked. He asked, ¡°What? What do you mean the Navi System does not exist anymore? Aren¡¯t we in the Navi System¡¯s capital right now?¡±


    ¡°This is the Navi Military Command, not the Navi System.¡±


    The Federation currently consisted of a total of fifty-three star systems, and each of them would at least have one or more militarized planets. Such planets stationed in the federal army are called military commands.


    Originally, the Navi System¡¯s militarized planets were some of the other planets in the system, but since Adrian occupied its council, the general headquarters were moved to the primary star, Naviland. As he thought about this, Zhong Yan slowly said, ¡°Your current headquarters are now here, and this place is called a military command¡­makes sense.¡±


    Adrian was still looking at him, but he did not speak.


    This was the Navi Military Command, not the Navi System. Navi System¡­had long ceased to exist.


    Zhong Yan gradually absorbed the information, and bit by bit, surprise floated up in his expression. He began slowly, ¡°Navi System¡­The 53rd system¡­What about the other planets?¡±


    Adrian did not answer directly, but instead revealed a cold smile. ¡°The Capital has made the correct choice of not starting conflict with me.¡±


    Zhong Yan murmured incredulously, ¡°All the planets are now classified as military commands?! How many troops and weapons do you have?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you overstepping your boundaries asking this, Mr. Councilor?¡± Adrian dwelled on the trivial matters. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what information or plans you have in your terminal instead?¡±


    ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ve been the supreme commander for? I was just wondering why I¡¯m the only one driving public opinion. Did you pour all your energy into developing your military power? The entirety of Navi, the entire star system, is filled with military troops?! What are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Representative Councilor, can¡¯t you tell what the signals mean with your keen political nose?¡±


    Zhong Yan ignored his mocking tone, and couldn¡¯t help but stand up, shouting, ¡°Adrian Yate! Are you crazy? Are you trying to start a coup?!¡±


    Compared to Zhong Yan¡¯s agitation, Adrian was clearly the calmer one. He also stood up and took a step towards Zhong Yan. He looked down into Zhong Yan¡¯s furious eyes, and asked, ¡°So, will you stand down?¡±

 Chapter 48 - Common Ground

    Zhong Yan was both anxious and angry. ¡°Have you really gone mad? There is still retreat if a coup without bloodshed fails, but have you ever thought about the consequences of the failure of an armed revolution?¡±


    Adrian shot back, ¡°Retreat? What retreat would there be for the failure of a peaceful coup? To spend the rest of my life in prison?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better than losing your life!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Adrian responded resolutely, ¡°I was determined to lay my life on the line the moment I stepped on Navi¡­¡±


    ¡°I care!¡± Zhong Yan shouted angrily as tears poured down from his eyes uncontrollably, ¡°I care! How could you be like that? You¡¯re the only person I care about! What about me?!¡±


    Zhong Yan rarely let his emotions break out, and this incited a change in Adrian¡¯s expression. He could hear a deep sigh emerging from a soft corner of his heart, but he wiped out that bit of weakness in resolution and said, ¡°If¡­¡± He was shocked at how choked his voice was. He cleared his throat and continued, ¡°If, seven years ago, you told me this before our graduation, I would¡¯ve reconsidered. But right now¡­Zhong Yan, it¡¯s already too late.¡±


    ¡°I was wrong, I was wrong, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zhong Yan cried and pleaded, ¡°Please give me one more chance, we can start over¡­just give me one more¡­¡±


    Adrian pursed his lips and shook his head lightly. His mind was blank. This was the results he had decided on because he knew that if he ever allowed himself any freedom of thought, he would definitely make an impulsive decision.


    Then, something filled his arms. Zhong Yan¡¯s arms passed beneath his and tightened around his body. Very quickly, his chest became warm and damp: those were Zhong Yan¡¯s tears.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t like me anymore, just don¡¯t send yourself to your own death. Please¡­I beg you¡­¡±


    His voice was muffled on Adrian¡¯s chest, and it felt like every one of his words were worming into his heart. His hands hovered only a centimeter away from Zhong Yan¡¯s back, and at the moment where Zhong Yan could not see, a look of struggle emerged on his face. Then, those hands were clenched into fists, and moved away by their owner.


    ¡°If we could start over, would you abandon that position?¡± Adrian asked.


    The body in his arms stiffened. Zhong Yan slowly let go of Adrian¡¯s waist and took a step back. His eyes were still red, but he tried his best to control his emotions, ¡°What does this have anything to do with that position? You¡¯re asking me to give up on my lifelong dreams for you.¡±


    Even if he knew he wouldn¡¯t agree, Adrian still couldn¡¯t help feeling disappointed. ¡°You have also asked me to give up my hopes of liberating mankind because of this. This matter has nothing to do with the armed coup either.¡±


    Zhong Yan sat himself down once more on the sofa and supported his head with one hand. For a moment, he did not speak, but when he started again, his voice had already stabilized. ¡°You¡¯ll lose. Let¡¯s not even mention how strong the defense system of the Capital itself is, just by adding up the military strength of the star systems nearby, I¡¯m afraid the strength is going to be far beyond that of the Navi Military Command. Even though the military commands and sub-councils in each region are of equal standing, they will not obey Pearson¡­But they will accept ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ orders. Just calm down, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m very calm. The only reason you can come to this wrong conclusion is because you don¡¯t know of Navi¡¯s true strength.¡± Adrian was really afraid that he would cry again, so he tried to keep his tone as mild as possible. ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t say I¡¯m going to bring my troops to the Capital the very next day. I have yet to fully perfect my preparations, and many of my officers are still working on a plan together¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°No matter what plans you make, do you know what you¡¯ll be recorded as in the history books if the first shot is fired? You¡¯re bringing a group of humans to attack another group of humans. Do you know what that means? The peace that has been maintained for dozens and dozens of generations by mankind will cease to exist. Once you are defeated, the winners will write you down as a sinner in history, and you will forever be nailed down onto the pillar of shame. You tell me that I don¡¯t know your strength well enough¡­Fine. Let¡¯s say you win. What then? War makes no distinctions, sacrifices will be made. Humans have not sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for centuries. Don¡¯t even tell me this is a necessary sacrifice, or a glorious one, people of this age can¡¯t accept this sort of thing. This is far too removed from what we know. Even if the victims themselves were willing to dedicate their lives, and maybe their families would understand, but the people in this world will only know that you were the one to cause this terrible situation. Do you still think you can serve the people then?¡±


    ¡°Why should I serve them?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you prepare the seat for yourself?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Adrian denied it, ¡°You¡¯re overestimating how versatile I am. I can¡¯t even take up the position of Student Council President, how would I be able to handle that position?¡±


    Zhong Yan blurted out, ¡°What? I thought you filled up the campaign application back then. Didn¡¯t you give up just because I joined? You were worried I¡¯d dwell on it so you never told me, and even deleted your application.¡±


    Adrian was stunned. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you talking about? I don¡¯t even know what the campaign application form looks like, who told you this?¡±


    ¡°I¡­It was on the school¡¯s forum, um¡­There was a ¡®Twin Stars¡¯ tag¡­¡± Zhong Yan said awkwardly. ¡°Was that fake?¡±


    Adrian couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking about the forum he had mistakenly entered, and it seemed to say that it was established by several girls from the gossip section of the Supreme Institution¡¯s internal forums after their graduation. Their little chatroom was filled with words like ¡°marriage¡±, and ¡°having sex¡±¡­


    ¡°I told you to stop looking at the forums!¡± Adrian grunted, ¡°How many times have I told you? The things they write in the gossip section are all just rumors!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zhong Yan felt wronged. ¡°You told me this on our third year. I saw it during our second year¡­¡±


    Adrian pulled their conversation back on topic. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t have the talent in this regard, but I will choose someone with that talent, and bring him up there myself.¡±


    ¡°A person with both talent and a mind for the world,¡± Zhong Yan added coldly, ¡°and regretfully, I do not meet the latter condition. So does that mean you have someone in mind? Oh, since you just went to see Vahl Cayman today¡­¡±


    A slight change emerged in both their expressions at the same time. Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. He had found another way to persuade him. ¡°That¡¯s right, you went to see Councilor Cayman! Does he agree to this as well?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to him about this.¡± Adrian kneaded the bridge of his nose, ¡°You too¡­don¡¯t tell him for the time being. I¡¯ll talk to him personally when everything is prepared here.¡±


    ¡°You know he won¡¯t agree to it, and the reason why you never told him is because you know he will try his best to dissuade you as well.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just not the right time.¡± Adrian looked straight at Zhong Yan. ¡°You won¡¯t expose information about your temporary ally on the very first day we announce our plans to each other now, will you?¡±


    These words blocked out all of Zhong Yan¡¯s paths, so he could only agree. ¡°No. Since that is the case, to each their own. The deer has not been hunted yet, so let¡¯s not argue about how we¡¯re going to divide the meat.¡±


    Adrian disagreed with that metaphor. In his opinion, this was not a matter of obtaining interests for himself, but he knew that was exactly what Zhong Yan meant. He did not waste his energy on refuting him and agreed to disagree, nodding his head to a temporary truce.


    ¡­¡­


    That night, Adrian couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Most of it was because the lights outside were lit the whole night through, and the faint glow of it seeping in through the cracks of his door implied that Zhong Yan did not return to his room.


    It was already late at night, was Zhong Yan still working? Was he writing up a new plan, or dealing with the new situations that had risen today?


    He couldn¡¯t sleep anyway, so Adrian decided to just wake up, and go downstairs to find trouble with Zhong Yan. Just as he opened the door, he was shocked stiff by the person standing in front of it.


    Zhong Yan was standing there, wearing his pajamas with the giant space rabbit prints. He had one hand raised as if he was about to knock on the door, but the door suddenly opened. It surprised him too, and he took a step back because of it.


    ¡°What?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± Adrian began. He tried to put on a carefree look, but unfortunately, he was not very successful. No matter how you heard it, he sounded nervous. ¡°I¡¯ll be¡­leaving tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Right. Didn¡¯t I tell you? I¡¯m sending you to White Aegis tomorrow.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded, and he spoke again with his eyes trailing left and right. ¡°I just received some credits in my account these few days, and also saved up a little before. I¡¯ll transfer four hundred thousand to you. Tomorrow¡¯s the deadline, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No need, I¡¯ll pay it,¡± Adrian casually responded when he saw how hard it was for him to even get four hundred thousand. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose a shop that made some money instead? You could have gotten some return. You just had to go and open a specimen store¡­Who still buys stuff like that these days?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s niche that it¡¯s not eye-catching,¡± Zhong Yan explained.


    ¡°Capital aside, let¡¯s just talk about that specimen shop in the Institution Star¡ªIn a school filled with eighteen or nineteen-year-olds, even a decent juice shop went down, so don¡¯t you think it¡¯s eye-catching at all for a specimen shop to survive four years without closing?¡±


    Zhong Yan did not know why but he felt a little uneasy. Even he himself didn¡¯t realize that his speech had started to speed up. ¡°There¡¯s a new batch of students once every three years, how would anyone realize that it¡¯s been open for four years! And the teachers and professors aren¡¯t that idle.


    ¡°What¡¯s more¡­there¡¯s actually a bit of income from the branch in the Capital¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you come upstairs to my door in the middle of the night¡­just to talk to me about the operating conditions of your specimen stores?¡± Adrian cut him off and said, ¡°Are you getting nervous?¡±


    ¡°What? No, no, not at all,¡± Zhong Yan emphasized it over and over again. The courage he had managed to gather up before coming upstairs had all deflated just like that, but he wasn¡¯t willing to leave just like that. After standing around for a while, he still said, ¡°Today¡¯s the last night. When you pay the fines tomorrow, when I leave Navi, we won¡¯t have any personal dealings anymore, and there¡¯s absolutely no possibilities for us anymore, right?¡±


    Adrian didn¡¯t know what he was trying to say, but he still responded. ¡°Right.¡±


    Zhong Yan tried to hint vaguely, ¡°I just took a shower. Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡± Adrian almost thought he had heard him wrong, but Zhong Yan refused to say anymore, and just looked at him from outside. Adrian slowly began, ¡°Do you mean what I¡¯m thinking?¡±


    A faint red could be seen on Zhong Yan¡¯s ears, but he tried to look as calm as possible. He calmed his voice and said, ¡°Just for one night.¡±


    Adrian did not respond, nor did he move away; he just stood there blankly.


    He probably felt disgusted in his heart. Perhaps it was just for the sake of giving some face to his ¡°temporary ally¡± at the very end that he didn¡¯t tell him ¡°scram¡±. Zhong Yan wallowed in shame and despair for a few seconds and finally determined that his idea of leaving behind a final memory was a terrible one. Softly, he apologized and turned to leave.


    Before he could even reach the stairs, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. With the time it took Zhong Yan to turn around, Adrian had already reached him. Without a single word, he leaned down and hauled Zhong Yan onto his shoulders violently. Without stopping, he took him down the stairs, and opened the door to his original room.

 Chapter 49 - Inviting the Wolf Into Your House

    When Zhong Yan was thrown onto the bed, his mind was still confused. He first thought that he must have gotten Adrian angry, and he was probably going to leave after throwing him here; but in the next second, Adrian pressed down on him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to ask you a long time ago, Zhong Yan.¡± Adrian leaned down and trapped him beneath him. ¡°Do you really not know what you look like?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhong Yan was shocked. He had never seen such an aggressive side to Adrian. He could see a dangerous tint of darkness that belonged to that of a predator in the deepest depths of his silver eyes. Just like that of¡­a wolf.


    Zhong Yan could vaguely feel that things were not the same as what he had imagined. He sat in the living room until late, thinking that tomorrow will truly be goodbye. As time passed, Adrian might slowly start to forget him. He thought about it depressingly in the middle of the night: if they were destined to go different ways, what could he leave with Adrian in these last few hours? And what could Adrian give him? How could he leave an indelible mark on that person¡¯s heart? What kind of memory could he make that could be used to comfort himself for the rest of his coming lifetime?


    For a moment, his head felt hot. Like latching onto the last straw that could save his life, he latched onto that crazy thought. By the time he stood in front of Adrian¡¯s door, he had started to feel that it was ridiculous again. But just then, the door actually opened.


    And so, he said it.


    He was prepared to be ridiculed, but now it seemed like¡­


    Adrian spoke in a hushed whisper, ¡°Do you know how dangerous it is for you to make such an invitation to a healthy adult man in the middle of the night when you look like this?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Zhong Yan whispered indulgently, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s you.¡±


    It¡¯s fine even if all he wanted was his flesh. This was good enough since he couldn¡¯t give anything more anyway.


    Zhong Yan reached out to circle his arms around Adrian¡¯s neck. The loose sleeves of his pajamas rolled down, and the fair skin of his arms were plastered directly to Adrian¡¯s skin.


    This shouldn¡¯t be happening, Adrian thought. He should leave immediately, not continue to tangle himself with this man. Zhong Yan looked pretty and harmless on the surface, but this was too dangerous, especially for him; he was much more dangerous than anyone else. But somehow, his hands that were trained to be able to take out professionally trained combatants bare-handedly were unable to break free from that pair of soft and weak arms hanging loosely around his neck.


    ¡°This¡­ is wrong.¡± He ignored the crazy desires in his heart. He didn¡¯t know whether that was hope that Zhong Yan would take the initiative to back off, or that Zhong Yan would convince him, and pull him down the abyss with him. ¡°This is wrong, we shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan satisfied his latter wish.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong about it? By law, we¡¯re both willing. Morally, both you and I are single. And ethically, we have no blood relations. After tonight¡­we¡¯ll have no connections with each other.¡±


    No¡­Adrian thought with his last line of reason.


    He looked at Zhong Yan¡¯s unparalleled face. The man he had longed for so long was finally lying under him and telling him that it was fine as long as it was him.


    What¡¯s wrong about it? He heard another voice in his heart. Zhong Yan was right, they were both single, adult men, so what¡¯s wrong if they willingly relieved their desires together? They¡¯ve been adults for so long, these things¡­were nothing to kick up such a big fuss about¡­right?


    But¡­


    Zhong Yan will soon leave, the voice continued to entice him. This may be the last chance you¡¯ll get in your lifetime. You¡¯ll regret it if you let it pass.


    ¡°You¡¯ll regret it.¡± Adrian¡¯s words were practically squeezed out through his gritted teeth. ¡°If you say no now, I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Zhong Yan cajoled, ¡°I won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    His last string of reason snapped.


    Adrian¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°You said it yourself.¡±


    Saying that, he began to tear at the pajamas with the giant space rabbit prints. Zhong Yan shrieked and stopped his hands. ¡°Turn off the lights!¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Adrian grunted. He lowered his head and breathed in the smell of his neck.


    Zhong Yan raised his neck and exposed his weak throat to the fangs of his predator. He was gasping, but at the same time, he insisted, ¡°No¡­turn off the lights first¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always so many problems with you!¡± Adrian gnashed his teeth. He used the last shred of his self-control to move his gaze away from Zhong Yan¡¯s face, just to see Zhong Yan holding a hand under his ribs desperately.


    There was a mark there that both of them knew the origins of.


    Adrian¡¯s heart suddenly softened. He shut his eyes and suppressed his raging desires. He put his hand beneath Zhong Yang¡¯s bottom and lifted the man out of bed. Zhong Yan suddenly felt his body rise up, and he instinctively wrapped his arms and legs around him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhong Yan asked in confusion.


    Adrian carried him off the bed and went to turn off the lights. The predator who had locked onto its prey could not stand letting go, even for a short moment. He had to keep it imprisoned between its arms to fill the gaps of desire in his heart.


    The lights went out, and the starlight was blocked out by the dense curtains. In the darkness, Adrian set Zhong Yan down on the ground and pushed him to the wall before pressing against him to prevent him from moving.


    He slid his hands into Zhong Yan¡¯s pajamas that had been pulled away earlier. His calloused fingers that was attached to his gun year-long was carefully rubbing around the smooth exposed skin of his waist. Zhong Yan shuddered and almost fell over. He reached out to hold Adrian¡¯s neck, and mumbled from his chest, ¡°¡­Do you have experience?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Adrian paused for a moment. Quickly, he recalled the various studies, books, and videos he had seen. He felt that his theoretical foundation alone should be enough to support him in successfully completing his first practical drill, so he responded stubbornly, ¡°I have tons of experience, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡­So it turns out somebody had already engaged in intimate relations with Adrian during a time he was unaware. Zhong Yan felt sour in his heart. But on the other hand, it did reassure him a little. His voice trembled faintly, ¡°That¡¯s good. I don¡¯t have any experience, so I¡¯m¡­scared.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± Adrian breathed. He caressed his cheeks and his soft lips in tender pity, and in the next second, replaced his fingers with his own lips.


    In the darkness, they temporarily forgot about all the problems in the world, about their ambitions, and pretended that they were lovers with connected hearts. Quietly, they embraced each other and kissed passionately.


    Adrian leaned his body forward to connect with his, and he was able to feel Zhong Yan¡¯s desire that was similarly raised like his own.


    Zhong Yan blushed. He was glad that they turned off the lights. But, he didn¡¯t realize that there was no need for Adrian to confirm the heat of his cheeks with his own eyes. Adrian could feel his burning cheeks from his lips, which also served to ignite his desires.


    He leaned down to pick Zhong Yan up and returned to the bed. His beautiful prey was lying there obediently, allowing him to do whatever he wanted; he nearly lost control. He tore away the clothes from Zhong Yan¡¯s body before touching the bare pearl that had been stripped of its outer shell attentively with his hands.


    Those rough and powerful fingers glided past every inch of his skin, and when he rubbed past the scar under his ribs, Zhong Yan held his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Adrian gently coaxed him, ¡°It¡¯s alright, only I know. It¡¯s alright¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan slowly let go of his hands, but Adrian caught hold of his wrist and brought them downwards.


    Those long and slender, pampered fingers that did the work of those at the highest level of the Federation every day were now trembling and covered around the large bulge, completely perplexed. Zhong Yan explored that region mindlessly and tried to unbuckle Adrian¡¯s trousers. After a few minutes, the buckle still did not unravel, and the desire within was standing even more rigid.


    ¡°Do you¡­¡± Adrian asked with gritted teeth, ¡°know how to do it or not?¡±


    Zhong Yan was so scared that he retracted his hand, and said with a wronged cry, ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t¡­You take it off yourself.¡±


    Adrian unbuckled his own trousers with one hand and released his heat from the fabric. He repositioned himself so he could hold the rigid organs of both he and Zhong Yan together, and began to rub them back and forth.


    Both their breaths interweaved in passion under the darkness. Zhong Yan stiffened his body so that both he and Adrian¡¯s most intimate parts could cling together. The repeated ministrations of that large hand to his heat was pushing him higher and higher to the peaks.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s breathing was turning more and more rapid. Adrian knew that he was coming, and he swept his powerful fingertips over the small hole before him. Zhong Yan¡¯s body shook fiercely and he dug his fingers deep into Adrian¡¯s shoulder from his back with so much force that even Adrian could feel a little pain from it.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± With soft pants that sounded like whimpers, Zhong Yan¡¯s mind blanked out and he reached his climax in Adrian¡¯s hand.


    In the afterglow, he couldn¡¯t help but turn soft in Adrian¡¯s arms, his soft black hair soaked with sweat. Adrian opened up the soft entrance beneath him with his semen. After putting in just half of his finger, he was able to feel the ring of flesh biting down his finger tightly, and the person in his arms shivered.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Adrian asked nervously. His finger was stuck and it was too rigid to move forward.


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°Quick¡­it feels¡­too weird¡­¡±


    Adrian slowly began to explore the hidden lands before him. Zhong Yan was constantly buried in his arms, and he was gasping softly with his chin on his shoulder. When he could finally get a third finger in, Adrian took all of them out and pushed the man down on the bed.


    His hot pride was propped up to his soft entrance. Adrian¡¯s forehead was already covered in sweat, and enduring his urges, he made the final confirmation. ¡°Can I go in? I don¡¯t have condoms at home, but my medical reports are normal.¡±


    ¡°Come in,¡± Zhong Yan spoke.


    Adrian obeyed the order. His manhood was already fully engorged and much thicker than the width of three fingers. Even if he had taken a long time to stretch him out, Zhong Yan still couldn¡¯t help but choke, ¡°Ow¡­slow down, it hurts¡­¡±


    Adrian had only entered halfway, but he didn¡¯t dare to go any deeper since Zhong Yan said it hurt. He thrust in and out at a shallow depth in a small attempt to ease him into it.


    The fire of lust slowly dispelled the pain from his body. Zhong Yan reached out to Adrian, and he leaned down to allow him to embrace him. From soft movements, he gradually went harder as uncontrollable moans overflowed from Zhong Yan¡¯s lips.


    Having adapted to the dark, he could see that the face beneath him that was usually so cold was now filled with lust and dyed an ambiguous color by the darkness.


    Adrian couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. He pulled up Zhong Yan¡¯s weak and soft body and had him sit on top of him.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t¡­ah!¡± Zhong Yan screamed through his tears, ¡°It¡¯s too deep¡­too deep! Don¡¯t move, ah!¡±


    The change of position made it so that Adrian¡¯s thick erection was pushed fully inside. He brushed a hand between the wet strands of Zhong Yan¡¯s hair and brought his head down for a kiss. Zhong Yan¡¯s moans were trapped in his mouth, and he on Adrian¡¯s body. He had already exhausted all his strength earlier, so he had no power to struggle at all. He could only bear with the rigid heat slamming repeatedly into the deepest depths of his body with tears streaming down his face.


    When Adrian finally released his lips, Zhong Yan was sobbing so desperately that he couldn¡¯t make a coherent sound anymore. Adrian wiped away the tears from his face and softly coaxed him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it hurt earlier didn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll slow down, don¡¯t cry, Xiao Yan¡­¡±


    But his appeasement was met with the opposite effect, Zhong Yan was crying even harder now. Adrian felt a little panicked since it was his first time, so he didn¡¯t know whether it was too painful for him or not.


    ¡°I can¡¯t anymore, hurry up and finish¡­¡± said Zhong Yan through his sobbing, ¡°I can¡¯t, I¡¯m too tired. My waist is sore¡­I don¡¯t have any strength left¡­¡±


    Adrian: ¡°¡­¡± But he just started!


    However, Zhong Yan¡¯s physical strength has indeed reached its limit. He could only appease Zhong Yan with promises that he was nearly done while speeding up the tempo of his movements. Zhong Yan had no strength to cry any longer, and could only let out unbearable whimpers. His round nails dug into Adrian¡¯s back, and he couldn¡¯t help scratching the skin beneath them. Their owner had already lost his reason, and he could hardly control the strength of his fingers. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have that much strength, otherwise, Adrian¡¯s back might¡¯ve become a bloody mess right then.


    After deliberately releasing his desires uncontrollably, Adrian had also quickly reached his peak. Without a condom on, he pulled out from Zhong Yan¡¯s body and vented his desires outside.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s body was exhausted of all energy, and he fell into a deep sleep almost immediately after that. Adrian carried him to the bathroom to wash him up, and he was going to put him back down on the bed before heading back to his own room to sleep, but Zhong Yan was instinctively holding on tightly to him in his sleep, refusing to let go.


    Adrian looked at the faint red flush at the corners of his eyes and carefully held him in his arms, deciding to let himself indulge in this dream.


    ¡­¡­


    When the first hint of sunlight shone in through the curtains, Adrian knew it was time to wake up from this dream.


    Zhong Yan slept quietly in his arms, and he fit so perfectly it was almost as if it was tailored for him. These feelings were so overwhelming that he even wanted to attempt to stay in this dream even after Zhong Yan woke up.


    Zhong Yan sat up, and the soreness and discomfort of his waist helped speed up the sobering process. He lifted his wrist to check the time: it was time to get ready for departure.


    He did not look at Adrian. He sat by himself and sorted out his thoughts for a few seconds, then he got up and began changing his clothes.


    ¡°You could stay if you want,¡± Adrian said to his back.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s hands paused at his buttons. He asked, ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°I thought about it earlier, you¡¯ll be at a disadvantage even if you go back,¡± Adrian said, ¡°With your current modus operandi, you can only wait for the other party to make mistakes before you can expand on it, and create a discussion. That¡¯s too passive. On the other hand, I can take the initiative to attack.¡±


    ¡°For you to make this inaccurate judgment of us is precisely because you don¡¯t know enough about us,¡± Zhong Yan used Adrian¡¯s words from last night against him.


    Adrian raised a brow. ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°We are not ¡®waiting for them to make mistakes¡¯. Last year¡ªOh, my apologies, it was the year before the last¡ªTwo years ago, during the hot topic that changed the winds of the people¡¯s opinion. Do you remember that?¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°The misjudgment incident. I know, the reason why that matter was blown up into such a huge storm was because your group was fanning the flames from the background.¡±


    ¡°That girl would often publish anti-AI sentiments in the virtual community, and she was very active in many of the major forums. After that incident, her background was fully exposed. She was the child of a normal civilian family, and everyone thought she was just an ordinary youngster who was against AI. At most, her homepage was a little popular, and there were a lot of other netizens she was familiar with who also voiced that everything had been blown out of proportions. But in truth¡­¡± Zhong Yan paused for a moment. ¡°She is one of ¡®Specimen¡¯s¡¯ core members. The person who came in conflict with her sued her, and the people she was mischarged guilty against by ¡®Butterfly¡¯¡­are also our men.¡±


    Adrian was shocked. ¡°So¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult to create a hot topic amongst the people. Throughout this decade, the only thing that could match up to that matter in terms of traction might just be the fallout we had back then. We have arranged this play for a whole half-year, and this wasn¡¯t the only ¡®target¡¯ we prepared¡­it¡¯s just this girl alone who managed to hit the bull¡¯s eye,¡± Zhong Yan explained. ¡°Do you think we can rely on the right time, place, and people for things like these? We created all three elements by ourselves. We are also actively attacking them.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re¡­¡± Before Adrian could finish, Zhong Yan completed his sentence. ¡°Deceiving the public? I knew you wouldn¡¯t be able to accept it. Yes, we planned a trap, but if the AI could really be selfless, all the ¡®targets¡¯ we created would have failed, and what happened later would naturally be avoided. Besides¡­How high was your support rate seven years ago, and how much is it now?¡±


    If he were to say words such as ¡°I don¡¯t want the support gained from such means¡±, then he really would¡¯ve gotten a cheap deal, and even got to play the good samaritan. In the end, he said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t accept it, I just wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    With the time it took for him to speak, Zhong Yan had already changed into his pure black suit. This was the formal suit he purchased a few days ago just for this occasion.


    Fully-dressed and proper, the Councilor opened the curtains and looked out at the wide expanse of mountains in the distance. Calmly, he said, ¡°I will finish before you do.¡±


    Adrian was still sitting in bed half-naked. The strong morning sun from Navi landed on his back, and the scratches on his skin throbbed, reminded him that the frenzied passion they had in the dark just hours ago was no fantasy, and the man who gave him this pain was standing right behind him, coldly announcing his farewell with his back to him.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Adrian responded, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±

 Chapter 50 - Departure

    Zhong Yan was alone when he had arrived, and he didn¡¯t have any luggage or anything. But when he left, he packed two boxes.


    ¡°Take away the kitchen utensils you bought as well.¡± Adrian leaned on the wall and said, ¡°I don¡¯t cook.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t cook either,¡± Zhong Yan responded. The palm-sized rabbit was sitting on his shoulder, and the white furball was especially eye-catching against his black suit.


    Only then did Adrian remember that Zhong Yan didn¡¯t cook when he was by himself.


    Zhong Yan gave his boxes one last check to see if he missed anything.


    Adrian couldn¡¯t understand why he had to. He felt that it was fine even if he left something behind. He had only bought those clothes and daily necessities after coming here anyway. But he couldn¡¯t say that. He knew that Zhong Yan had always been very anxious and obsessive about these small things that seemed completely irrelevant to him. For example, he couldn¡¯t stand seeing people, which mostly referred to Adrian, with wrinkled clothes, a flipped collar, or casually tossing stuff around. As long as he saw it, he would personally correct it. For example, right before the exams, even if he was clearly the one with the best grades, he would still feel that he hadn¡¯t studied enough, and would nervously review madly.


    Zhong Yan had already packed up yesterday when he was home. Seeing that Zhong Yan was busy with the other box, he casually opened the remaining one as well.


    Only after opening the box did Adrian realize that this was the cleaning robot¡¯s box. The inside was lined with the brightly colored blanket, and there were also some strange things and some bags of food packed inside.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this in here?¡± Adrian pulled out an unidentified pink bag and saw some words written in a soft girly font: Healthy Food for Pet Bunny.


    As a soldier who spent most of his days with his blade dripping with blood, the mental impact he received from this sight caused his hands to loosen, and the pink bag of rabbit food fell back into the box.


    ¡°How could shops in Navi sell stuff like this?¡± Adrian asked in disbelief.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s long trip syndrome was starting again. He was tiring himself over checking the inventory of his luggage, and nervously recalling whether he left anything or not, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention to Adrian. He heard him talk, and absentmindedly asked, ¡°What¡­?¡±


    Saying that, he raised his head to take a glance; then, he couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore.


    ¡°Why did you open that box?! It took me so much work to pack it!¡± He picked up the small packing device on the side and with a headache, drove away the troublemaker. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything else to do? Why don¡¯t you go and feed the rabbit in the backyard?¡±


    Adrian closed the lid awkwardly and took a step back, but his mouth refused to back down so easily. ¡°So what if I open your box? It was my box to begin with. What¡¯s more, what am I going to do with the cleaning robot if you take this box away? Do you expect me to turn the robot on and off manually every single day?¡±


    ¡°I asked you a few days ago, didn¡¯t you say I could use it? Right, you should take this chance to buy a new cleaning robot.¡± While resealing the box, Zhong Yan said, ¡°I told you when I just arrived, there¡¯s a problem with your cleaning robot¡¯s programming. There¡¯s a lot of places it doesn¡¯t clean properly. This rabbit likes this box a lot, so I don¡¯t want to move it to a different nest.¡±


    After packing up the two boxes, he straightened his body. Just then, he felt a discomfort in his waist that he had never felt in his life, and nearly toppled over. Thankfully, Adrian had quick reflexes and caught him at the waist.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said under his breath, then pushed his hand away after steadying himself.


    Fortunately, both of them managed to retain their senses yesterday, and still had some sense of restraint, so they didn¡¯t actually spend all night indulging themselves.


    Adrian pursed his lips and did not speak. Before the sun came out, they had already agreed that what happened that night would be left in the dark; when the sun comes out, everything will go back to normal.


    This was the best choice. He told himself that this was the most mature way to deal with this. But the right thing that was determined by reason could not always be accepted by one¡¯s emotions. For example, right now, a strong sense of dissatisfaction had built up inside of Adrian from the fact that Zhong Yan was going to leave.


    It felt just like watching with your own eyes as your own belongings disappeared, but he was also clear that this was the right choice.


    Adrian had long realized Zhong Yan¡¯s cold-blooded nature. Even at the critical moment, his emotions would not drag him down. If there was anything he wanted, he could give up anything for the sake of it¡ªeven if it was something important to him. This was how Adrian had been abandoned by him once in the past, so even if it hurts just the same, he could still be as harsh on himself as he was on others.


    Such people are often able to achieve great things. Just from among their peers alone, Zhong Yan has indeed obtained great achievements.


    And today, he still acted as he usually did, as if that encounter last night did not really happen at all. Adrian couldn¡¯t help some of those old memories of the past from resurfacing. To him, this felt just like¡­this person had abandoned him once more.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Zhong Yan suddenly spoke, ¡°I nearly forgot. You¡¯re paying the fines this afternoon, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Adrian could not hold back the negative emotions within his heart, and his voice was laced with ridicule. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re the last person I want to marry, so I¡¯ve already set up a timed transfer. The payment will definitely be made before the deadline.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s attitude towards him had loosened up in these recent days, but it suddenly turned awful towards him again. Zhong Yan looked at him a little inexplicably and attributed this to his disgust towards the idea of their marriage.


    Zhong Yan turned on his own terminal and pressed a few buttons. Following that, the bell of a prompt could be heard from Adrian¡¯s terminal. He opened the message he had just received, only to see a notice that said: Notice of change in divorce penalty fee amount.


    ¡°I refused it,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I know you don¡¯t care about the money, but it¡¯s still better to save wherever you can. Why should you give money to ¡®Butterfly¡¯ anyway? The base penalty amount is around eighty thousand, so I¡¯ll pay forty thousand from my side later. You just have to pay the remaining half.¡±


    ¡°No need, just take the forty thousand as my donation to ¡®Specimen¡¯.¡±


    Zhong Yan paused for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to change the transfer amount anyway, so we should just pay half-half.¡±


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you being pretty generous right now?¡± Adrian showed no appreciation towards him. ¡°If you would¡¯ve done this sooner, we could¡¯ve avoided all those problems.¡±


    ¡°I never planned to advance the plan so quickly. I was thinking of planning it out a bit more when I returned. These days, if it weren¡¯t for¡­that thing of yours being rushed and all, I would¡¯ve advanced it as soon as I felt that the time was right.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean my thing?¡± Adrian was dissatisfied. ¡°You think that¡¯s all my own business? You think I can pop out a baby by myself?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhong Yan had finished arranging his boxes properly. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He brought his suitcase towards the back, while Adrian moved the cleaning robot¡¯s box. With one in front and the other at the back, Zhong Yan had already walked through that door, but he did not have any intentions of turning around to look at the house he lived in for the past half month.


    ¡°Zhong Yan,¡± Adrian called out to him from behind the door.


    Zhong Yan turned his face to the side and asked, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What¡­did yesterday mean for you?¡± Adrian tried to control his voice and did his best not to sound like a formerly pure virgin trying to come to terms with their first morning after, even though he really was one just last night.


    But Zhong Yan was clearly one too! How could he not care at all?


    Zhong Yan lowered his gaze. ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree to not bring this up after sunrise?¡±


    ¡°Just this once,¡± Adrian insisted. ¡°Once I come out this door, we will no longer have the chance to speak alone.¡± And perhaps, that might be true for the rest of their lives.


    Zhong Yan closed his eyes. What did yesterday night mean for him?


    A moment of indulgence he had snatched from the gods of destiny, to be hidden within layers after layers of locks within the deepest consciousness of his memories.


    He opened his eyes and curved his lips into a smile. ¡°¡­There¡¯s no meaning to it. Let¡¯s go, your men must be waiting outside.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Even when they reached White Aegis, Adrian still couldn¡¯t figure out whether Zhong Yan¡¯s words meant that ¡°there¡¯s nothing to talk about with this topic¡±, or if he meant that¡­this whole thing in itself had no meaning.


    But he had no more chances to ask.


    The small spacecraft was parked directly on the Supreme Council¡¯s long-distance ship. As soon as they came down, Intron came to receive them and gave Adrian a formal greeting.


    Adrian nodded and said in a lukewarm manner, ¡°Safe travels. Your rabbit is falling off.¡±


    ¡°My¡­what?¡± Intron asked in confusion. Only then did he realize that the latter sentence was not directed at him.


    A small snow-white rabbit was crouched on top of Zhong Yan¡¯s shoulder. Due to the angle they stood at, he wasn¡¯t able to see it earlier. Half of the rabbit was sliding down Zhong Yan¡¯s shoulder, and since it was too light, Zhong Yan didn¡¯t notice it at all. Now that Adrian mentioned it, he quickly picked up the little rabbit kit that was fast asleep and held it in his hands.


    Intron asked in surprise, ¡°Is¡­this the rabbit that Commander Yate rescued?¡±


    ¡°No, that one I already ate for dinner,¡± said Adrian with a straight face.


    ¡°This is the one.¡± Zhong Yan was completely unperturbed. ¡°Pass on the order later. Open up that square box, and take everything out besides the blanket, then put the rabbit inside.¡±


    As he was saying that, he shoved the rabbit in his hands to Intron who hurriedly accepted it.


    Adrian¡¯s guard came over and said something in his ear.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Adrian said, ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Adrian was dressed in casual clothes today, but that was just as usual. Besides the day of the school¡¯s celebration, he had not seen Adrian dressed formally since. But when Adrian¡¯s guard picked them up at his house, he was clearly dressed in a military uniform, but now he had also changed into casual clothes.


    Where were they going to go? Was it inconvenient for them to wear their uniforms?


    ¡°That old man¡¯s on your ship already,¡± Adrian told him. ¡°He¡¯s a bit rowdy so we gave him some medicine. He¡¯ll probably be awake in two hours.¡±


    Hearing that, Intron nearly wanted to vomit blood. Even though all three of them knew that Bayer had been forcibly put under house arrest. As the saying goes, even if you wanted to punish a dog, you had to check who the owner was; wasn¡¯t saying this in front of Zhong Yan the equivalent of picking a fight?


    But things took an even stranger turn. Not only was Zhong Yan not angry, he even asked, ¡°Is there any for me? Once he starts, he¡¯s even harder to deal with than someone more youthful.¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you planning to throw my grandfather aside soon?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s not time yet. But the old gentleman is too vigorous¡­You know how he is.¡±


    Holding the rabbit, Intron, for the first time ever, felt like he was lacking in brain cells, and it took him some effort to piece everything together.


    Adrian, the core figure of the anti-AI coalition.


    Zhong Yan, one of the highest members on the AI¡¯s side.


    Himself, the assistant of said highest member on the AI¡¯s side, but was in truth a spy for the anti-AI party.


    Adrian knew that he was a spy for the anti-AI.


    Zhong Yan thinks that he is his assistant.


    Zhong Yan did not know that he and Adrian were in the same camp.


    Adrian also knew that Zhong Yan didn¡¯t know that he and Adrian were in the same camp.


    So how did these two end up chatting about these things so naturally in front of him?


    Before he could figure things out, he heard Zhong Yan say, ¡°Oh right, Intron.¡±


    Intron reflexively responded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°From today on, I will be your direct confidant.¡±

 Chapter 51 - Return

    Their ship had already set sail for two hours, and the rabbit had already woken up, but Intron was still immersed in the great shock he received just now.


    Every day, he had been dealing with Zhong Yan with his heart in his throat. Anytime Zhong Yan¡¯s calm and unfathomable gaze brushed over him, he would wonder with his heart pounding whether he had messed up anywhere. But now he¡¯s telling him that the one in this battle of wits was actually his real superior?


    When Zhong Yan verified his identity with him, he had done it so simply like nothing had happened and told him to go put the rabbit away just like usual.


    ¡­¡­


    Intron watched soullessly as the little rabbit nibbled on its rabbit pellets when suddenly, his terminal lit up.


    They¡¯ve just entered an area with a stable signal. Intron looked through the news that had just come in, and slowly stabilized his expression before getting up to look for Zhong Yan.


    He knocked on the door of Zhong Yan¡¯s Office. When he heard the call of ¡°come in¡± from inside, he opened the door and went in. The terminal screen was not on, and Zhong Yan was not working. He seemed to be in a daze.


    ¡°Sir Zhong, we¡¯ve just received news,¡± Intron said, ¡± The Interim Council Head of Leber System has arrived in Labor System.¡±


    ¡°Did he just arrive?¡± Zhong Yan asked. ¡°That means he just passed us by, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°No, he seems to have arrived a long time ago.¡± Intron shook his head. ¡°Perhaps the message was delayed.¡±


    Ever since separating from Adrian in White Aegis, Zhong Yan had been feeling restless. He rubbed his temples and gave it some thought. ¡°Show me information on Qu Yongyi.¡±


    Intron was surprised, and he asked, ¡°Do you suspect that there¡¯s a problem with him? Do you want to look at the official information, or¡­¡±


    ¡°The information we built on him is not official,¡± Zhong Yan said. Intron was a very orderly worker and soon sent over all the files regarding Qu Yongyi to him with his terminal.


    Zhong Yan did not ask him to leave, so he stood beside Zhong Yan, and went through the files with him.


    If Qu Yongyi was placed in the general public, he would definitely become a successful person at the top of the pyramid. After all, he worked in the Capital¡¯s Supreme Council. But if you were to hand in that resume to the internal departments of the Supreme Council, he could only be said to be unremarkable. His father was also a councilman, but he had only worked in the council house of a second-tier planet. After transferring into the Supreme Council of the Capital, his connections were lacking, and his rate of promotion was also slow. He was only in his thirties when he entered the Supreme Council, which was considered a relatively young age for them. Now that a decade has passed, he was no longer the ¡°young¡± one. His political achievements were bland and unremarkable. Adding on his reserved personality, he was practically buried in the Supreme Council where the elite gathered and became a wallflower.


    This time, when ¡°Butterfly¡± suddenly launched an issue with the Leber System, the interests of many parties were locked in a stalemate, which was how he came to be pushed out. Zhong Yan originally thought that he would not be able to come to work so smoothly, but he had already arrived, and he did not seem to have stumbled at all.


    But how?


    Zhong Yan looked through the files of this middle-aged man with a frown between his brows. After wasting so much effort through the ups and downs, there¡¯s no way Pearson would be willing to just let this go. But now that Qu Yongyi had already headed off to work, what were they going to do now? Drag him down again? That would be too unsightly, and it¡¯ll be hard to just brush this over.


    The Leber System is close to the Navi System and has large amounts of mineral resources. The reason why Pearson put his hands on Leberr was so he could put the star system in his bag. Zhong Yan didn¡¯t feel like any of this was worth his curiosity. He had also screened Qu Yongyi¡¯s information a long time ago. From the looks of it, he was just someone who happened upon a catch birthed from conflict, and nobody could say for sure whether it was good or bad. But today, he was feeling vaguely uneasy about all this.


    ¡°Have we left Leber yet?¡± Zhong Yan asked.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Intron responded, ¡°We have a while to go.¡±


    ¡°How far is the next signal zone?¡±


    ¡°We passed one just a while ago, so the next one¡­¡± Intron checked the map on his terminal, ¡°should be half an hour away. This area is densely populated, so there are many areas with stable signals.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at the time. There was less than half an hour to go for his and Adrian¡¯s penalty deadline.


    He had already paid him half of the fines after taking off. Adrian said he had set up an automatic transfer, but even though he did not know how long in advance his transfer was set to go, he was sure it should be right before the deadline.


    In other words, when they receive a signal in half an hour, he should receive news that their marriage contract has been dissolved.


    ¡°Is everything settled on the public relations side?¡± Zhong Yan asked.


    Intron did not ask him what he meant. After the ideal marriage partner is announced, there is a one-month buffer time before the spousal relationship is officially announced. If they wish to refuse the proposal, they also had to pay the fines within that timeframe. The list updated last month on this very day will officially be announced soon. Today, the various platforms of the virtual community were counting down, especially as the times were coming closer, and the two had yet to pay the fine. Intron even thinks that most everyone in the Federation was likely on their terminals, eagerly awaiting the news.


    ¡°Everything is ready, don¡¯t worry,¡± Intron responded.


    ¡°What about Navi¡¯s Public Relations Department?¡±


    ¡°I contacted them this morning. The drafts on both sides are ready. As soon as the news of the dissolution of your and Commander Yate¡¯s relationship is announced, we will be able to follow up immediately after to control the situation.¡±


    ¡°Good. Where did Councilor Cayman head to?¡±


    ¡°He returned immediately after talking with Commander Yate yesterday. We just contacted their fleet earlier. They¡¯ve passed the Glory System, and all is safe.¡±


    After asking about all the little details, Zhong Yan finally eased up and allowed Intron to leave.


    Half an hour soon passed. As soon as their ship entered a stable signal zone, the notification bell of his terminal beeped without a moment¡¯s delay.


    Zhong Yan sat at his office desk, and he knew that everything was over now. He was rarely weak when he was alone, but he did not open his terminal. Even if he knew that news about the dissolution of his and Adrian¡¯s relationship was now flooding the entirety of the Federation very quickly, from all angles with various interpretations from various positions, each competing with each other, it didn¡¯t matter. The Public Relations departments on both sides have already prepared their rhetorics. At the very least, there was no need for him to step out personally at this moment.


    Then just let him run away from this for a few more minutes; to turn away from the goodbye known throughout the entire world; their last goodbye after the previous one from seven years ago.


    Someone was knocking urgently on his door. Zhong Yan answered, ¡°Come in.¡±


    Intron who had left not long ago hurried in again. Before Zhong Yan could say anything, he quickly said, ¡°Sir Zhong, have you contacted the other side?¡±


    ¡°Which side?¡± Zhong Yan could sense that something was not right. ¡°Contact about what?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you looked at your terminal yet?¡±


    Before he even finished speaking, Zhong Yan opened his terminal, and he didn¡¯t even have time to look at the news when he saw the two notices from ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    ¡­Two notices. Zhong Yan knew the very moment he saw that number that a deviation had occurred. After all, it only took one notice to notify him of the marriage contract nullification.


    And of those two, one was the notice of the late payment of the fine, and the second, the change in his marital status.


    The first notice notified him that since the fine was not paid within the stipulated time, his refusal was invalid, and so the parts of the fine that had been paid was returned to his account.


    The next notice congratulated him on his partnership with federal citizen Adrian Yate.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Zhong Yan stood up abruptly from his seat and looked at the two notices with incredulity.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Intron asked, completely unsure of what to do. ¡°None of our manuscripts and plans can be used anymore. Earlier, the Capital office contacted me and asked me what to do. Even those from Specimen are asking about our next steps. The people from Navi contacted me as well on my way to your office to ask us what to do. Maybe it¡¯s better if both sides keep quiet for a while¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Zhong Yan caught a clue in this raging chaos, ¡°people from Navi are asking us what to do? Why don¡¯t they ask¡ª¡±


    He paused. if the Navi Military Command was contacting him, that meant they couldn¡¯t get in contact with Adrian.


    Zhong Yan suddenly thought of White Aegis. Before Adrian left, Zhong Yan saw his guard changing into casualwear. At that time, he also guessed that he was probably going somewhere that would be convenient for them to be in their uniforms.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s heart started beating rapidly. He tried to dial Adrian¡¯s number, but he did not succeed.


    The call did not go through. Even the automatic transfer failed. Did Adrian¡¯s terminal stop working completely? Why? What happened?


    ¡°Leave that aside for now.¡± Zhong Yan forced himself to calm down and told Intron, ¡°Contact our men now. At the fastest speed possible, and at all costs, check if¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a special ringtone that sounded from his own terminal. His expression changed¡ªthis was an emergency call from ¡®Specimen¡¯.


    Zhong Yan picked up, and the two sides quickly exchanged their codewords. The other side hurriedly said, ¡°I just received news that the people secretly trained by Pearson have disappeared. It¡¯s been more than a day, and we have yet to be able to verify when it first happened. But it seems to be¡­¡±


    ¡°When Qu Yongyi departed from the Capital to his post?¡± Zhong Yan asked with a dark expression.


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    Zhong Yan hung up directly. All the doubts in his mind had formed into a clear line. He did not try in vain to contact Adrian and instead called Fayn directly.


    As soon as the call connected, Zhong Yan asked without even waiting for Fayn to say anything, ¡°Is he in Leber System right now? To see Qu Yongyi? And has the other party taken the initiative to seek cooperation with you?¡±


    After breaking through all the high-level military secrets in one quick burst, Fayn blurted in astonishment, ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Because something is wrong, he¡¯s not on your side! He¡¯s just bait, this was a trap!¡± Zhong Yan quickly said, ¡°Pearson has trained a group of throwaway assassins to deal with his problems whenever they crop up. I¡¯m almost completely sure now that they must have followed Qu Yongyi to Leber.¡±


    ¡°Adrian brought his guard¡­¡± Fayn said subconsciously. But his heart suddenly sank¡ªhe stopped being able to contact Adrian as soon as the news came out, and he thought that Adrian might be in a secret meeting with Leber¡¯s interim council head. The Leber System was within ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± supervision, so it was normal for both sides to activate their shielding devices. Perhaps the reason why Adrian missed the deadline for the fees was due to his neglect on that point.


    But now it seems like there¡¯s a large possibility that he was not negligent. He was unable to get himself out of the shielded place in time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring some people over right now.¡±


    ¡°Give me the coordinates,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t left Leber.¡±


    Without even a single word of nonsense, Fayn immediately reported the name and coordinates of the planet before quickly hanging up.


    Zhong Yan looked at Intron. After hearing that conversation, Intron was completely able to grasp the current situation. When he saw him walking over, he immediately asked, ¡°Should we notify the cockpit?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhong Yan repeated the address to him. ¡°Notify the cockpit to turn around immediately and head to the destination at full speed.¡±

 Chapter 52 - Uninvited Guest

    The planet was unexpectedly close to their current position, so Zhong Yan and Intron were able to arrive very quickly.


    The address Fayn gave him was that of a small manor located in the green nature of mountains and rivers. It was a commercial resort. Clearly, they were hosting guests today. There were two fully armed security guards posted at the entrance to the manor.


    After their car stopped, both Intron and Zhong Yan got off. The security staff yelled to them, ¡°No entry allowed. Leave now!¡±


    Intron was just about to go forward to talk sense to him, but Zhong Yan raised his hand to stop him. He took off his shades and looked coldly at the guards, asking, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    Both the guards were shocked. One of them blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re that Zhong Yan guy!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. Do you know who¡¯s inside, and what they¡¯re talking about?¡±


    While asking, Zhong Yan observed their expressions. The two security guards had faces of pure surprise and confusion, but they were not nervous, so he had a faint idea. These two were merely hired as guards and knew nothing of what was going on inside.


    As long as they weren¡¯t people from that side, then things will be easy to deal with.


    ¡°You don¡¯t, but I do.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°So move away.¡±


    The two guards quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Sir Zhong, our guests today have given us special instructions not to let anyone in. You¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan felt anxious inside, but he didn¡¯t show it at all. Arrogantly, he said, ¡°I am kin to one of the guests, and your esteemed guest has asked me to come. Your list of ¡®anyone¡¯ does not include me. I was late to begin with, so don¡¯t delay me any longer.¡±


    ¡°Kin?¡± The two guards looked at each other. Everyone in the Federation knew that the legendary councilor, Zhong Yan, was a parentless child who grew up in an orphanage, so how could he have kin? Unless¡­


    ¡°Are you so dedicated to your work that you did not look at your terminals at all?¡± Intron asked.


    Of course they did. The two quickly responded, ¡°So the person inside is¡­¡±


    Intron said, ¡°If you understand, then step aside quickly, don¡¯t delay Sir Zhong¡¯s business.¡±


    The two were still a little hesitant. Zhong Yan said with impatience in his tone, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go in myself. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I don¡¯t bring my assistant, is there?¡±


    One of the security guards began to contact one of his superiors on his terminal. Intron quickly took this opportunity to whisper to Zhong Yan. ¡°Sir Zhong, you¡¯re going in alone? Let me go with you, if things turn for the worst¡­¡±


    ¡°And what use will you have if you go as well?¡± Zhong Yan asked him calmly. ¡°If everything goes well, I will be safe on my own. But if something does go wrong¡­you would have gone in for naught.¡±


    Intron couldn¡¯t refute him. Zhong Yan went on to ask, ¡°Where are Navi¡¯s men currently?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be here soon, about twenty minutes.¡± Intron nervously confirmed the information on his terminal. ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait for them to arrive before we¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan refused without even considering it. ¡°No, I will go in first. The longer this goes on, the more dangerous it will be.¡±


    ¡°They seem to have alarmed the media. Several of Navi¡¯s warships have left their borders and broke through the border crossing of Leber System without declaring their intentions. Many of Leber¡¯s media outlets are following their movements, won¡¯t this alert them?¡±


    ¡°No matter, outside news can¡¯t enter right now. It won¡¯t do any harm.¡±


    While they were talking, the two guards ended their call and turned to Zhong Yan with complicated expressions. ¡°Sir Zhong, we¡¯re not sure why, but we can¡¯t contact any of the guests inside. Manager¡¯s orders. Why don¡¯t we¡­ let you in just like you suggested, by yourself?¡±


    Zhong Yan eased up a little. This place was most likely chosen by Qu Yongyi. If the manager of the resort couldn¡¯t contact him, that meant he was still inside. If he did not come out, then they must not have succeeded yet.


    He stepped into the manor under the worried gaze of Intron.


    When he was standing right outside the door, Zhong Yan turned on his terminal deliberately to confirm. The signal was blocked.


    He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Is someone knocking on the door?¡± Adrian suddenly said.


    Sitting across from him was an average-looking middle-aged man in his forties. Hearing that, he had a start, and subconsciously said, ¡°How could that be?¡±


    The parlor room was quiet for a few seconds. This time, the muffled sounds of the door reached everyone¡¯s ears.


    ¡°How¡­how could anyone be knocking?¡± Qu Yongyi looked extremely unsettled, ¡°I told them not to¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous, Councilor. Perhaps it¡¯s service provided by the manor.¡± Even though Adrian was getting impatient with how this person kept going back and forth, avoiding the main topic, he vaguely felt that this so-called cooperation could not be achieved. But it will be no good for both sides if word were to get out about him and a member of the Supreme Council having a secret meeting. He told his guard, ¡°Go and see who it is.¡±


    It was impossible for it to be a service staff of the manor, and Qu Yongyi was very clear about this. He had made it very clear when he booked the manor. He was going to talk about confidential things with some bigshots, so nobody was allowed to come anywhere close to that building.


    The guard accepted the order and left. Only Qu Yongyi, his assistant, and Adrian were left in the parlor room now.


    Qu Yongyi couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about anything else now¡ªthe guard finally left, and Adrian was alone. Was this a good chance right now? Maybe they can¡­


    He was still hesitant and wanted to turn to his assistant and look at what he thought. But this opportunity was fleeting. The manor was not big to begin with, so the guard returned not long after leaving¡ªAnd, they brought an uninvited guest.


    It¡¯s hard to say whether Adrian or Qu Yongyi was more shocked to see Zhong Yan under these circumstances. Both of them stood up and was just about to speak, but nobody was as quick as Zhong Yan. As soon as he stepped into the room, he started complaining before anyone could even say anything. ¡°What is wrong with this manor? The guards at the door actually tried to keep me out¡ªwhat a joke, don¡¯t they know who I am? Say, and what¡¯s wrong with you? Didn¡¯t we agree you¡¯d come pick me up in a bit? What took you so long? Now I had to come here by myself.¡±


    As he said that, he walked very naturally to Adrian¡¯s side, and helped him dust away the nonexistent dust on his collar. Adrian did not evade him. Zhong Yan who should¡¯ve been on a ship right now suddenly appeared here, and his behavior was abnormal. He suppressed his confusion and quietly waited to see.


    Hearing this, Qu Yongyi was dumbfounded and looked dazedly at Zhong Yan. He asked, ¡°Councilor Zhong Yan¡­Were you not returning to the Capital?¡±


    ¡°I was,¡± Zhong Yan responded. Affectionately, he patted Adrian¡¯s arm and said, ¡°This guy promised he¡¯d come see me off. But he never showed up, so I could only come myself.¡±


    ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± asked Adrian, expression unperturbed. He was trying to figure out what was going on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a tracker installed on your terminal?¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°Your adjutant helped me check where you were. Don¡¯t blame him for this, he really can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m not delaying your business, am I?¡±


    Adrian was very clear that no such thing was installed on his terminal. So¡­Fayn told him where he was. Why?


    ¡°Oh, oh no, nothing of the sort.¡± Cold sweat was starting to ooze from Qu Yongyi¡¯s forehead. A tracker? But all signals were clearly shielded in this building, so how could the tracker find them? Could there be a problem with the shielding device? He couldn¡¯t help himself from being a little flustered, but he tried his best to smile. ¡°Councilor Zhong, you¡­ I thought your relationship was not good? It seems like the rumors can¡¯t be trusted.¡±


    Zhong Yan sighed. ¡°Well, we¡¯re already married, what can we do? The fines were really too high. We discussed it, but we could really only give in.¡±


    He saw both Adrian and Qu Yongyi looking at him with horror and pretended to be surprised. ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t you receive the news?¡± He turned to Adrian. ¡°Didn¡¯t ¡®Butterfly¡¯ send you the notification? I received our official marriage notification earlier. You¡­did delay it, right?¡±


    ¡°We have a one-way shielding device in use here,¡± Qu Yongyi quickly explained, ¡°Sir Yate knows.¡±


    The so-called one-way shielding meant that outside signals could not enter, nor detect any of the activities inside, so automatic transfers of this sort would not be affected. Adrian¡¯s heart jumped¡ªThe automatic transfer failed? This building¡­is not under one-way shielding?


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll show you mine. Look, those are the two notifications. One says our fines are overdue, and the other is the notice of our marriage.¡± While saying that, Zhong Yan turned on his terminal and showed it to Adrian, but the screen wasn¡¯t showing the notice from ¡°Butterfly¡± as he described, and was instead showing the text communication interface with Adrian. The input field says: Danger. There are assassins in the house, lots of them. Do not fall out with him here. Leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a marriage notification, what¡¯s there to look at? It was set to happen a long time ago,¡± said Adrian, unperturbed. He raised his hand to shut off Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal screen, and following that, held his hand in a very natural manner.


    Though his appearance was calm and steady, Zhong Yan¡¯s palms were covered in sweat.


    Adrian had a basic understanding of the situation now. He was only told when he came in that this building was protected by a one-way shield, but it was actually an in-depth two-way shield. Even if he realized that something was wrong, nobody inside could seek help from the outside.


    ¡°How long have you been talking here? Are you done yet?¡± Zhong Yan looked at Adrian. ¡°Why don¡¯t you continue your talk after you send me off?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not done here yet¡ª¡± Qu Yongyi subconsciously tried to stop him, but then he couldn¡¯t be too sure about that decision. It did not seem like Adrian noticed anything off, and Zhong Yan had also crashed in by coincidence. Adrian¡¯s guard did not leave that whole time, so for the sake of security, he never made his move, and waited patiently for Adrian to be left alone. Word is that Adrian was the strongest soldier in the world. With 1 vs 10 being a piece of cake for him, anyone who could become Adrian¡¯s guard was likely no pushover either. And now that Zhong Yan was suddenly mixed into the pile, the instability factor has greatly increased. Things like this only allowed for success. Failure was no option. If Adrian lives through this, then he would be the one dead. He might be better off¡­letting him go first, and arranging for another opportunity. If he forcefully stopped him, they might end up finding something fishy about him instead.


    But this didn¡¯t seem right, how could Zhong Yan be in such a relationship with Adrian? This wasn¡¯t how it was written in the information he heard prior to this at all! How did they get married? Could they really not afford the fines? And why doesn¡¯t Zhong Yan look surprised to see him at all? And how could Adrian¡¯s adjutant tell him such a confidential thing?


    ¡°It¡¯s more important for you to be with Councilor Zhong. I mean, you¡¯re newly married¡­¡± Qu Yongyi¡¯s mind was in a mess, and his words were already getting incoherent. ¡°It¡¯s only proper. That¡¯s right, I still haven¡¯t congratulated Councilor Zhong¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan gave him a reserved nod. He was a representative council member, so was not very respectful towards Qu Yongyi, and only responded plainly, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Adrian was pulling a long face. From the looks of it, he looked rather unhappy to have his conversation interrupted, but it would not be good for him to get into a fit in front of an outsider. He said to Qu Yongyi, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a moment. I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯s quite the troublemaker. He¡¯s been this way since we were still in school. He¡¯s gotten too used to using his privilege.¡±


    Qu Yongyi told them not to worry about it, and sent the three of them to the door, only to hear a voice ring out from the parlor room just before they left. ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll return after leaving?¡±


    It was Qu Yongyi¡¯s assistant, who had been silently standing at the side without any sense of presence. They turned their heads to look at him and saw the unattractive man raise his head, looking at him with a pair of cold eyes that glimmered with frost. He shouted, ¡°Get them! This is our only chance!¡±

 Chapter 53 - Shield

    Following his loud shout, it was like an explosion had been set off in the quiet manor. The sound of glass breaking and heavy things landing on the ground rang out before that voice could finish its sentence.


    Adrian took this opportunity to open the door of the parlor room and pulled Zhong Yan to him before giving a short order to his guard, ¡°Go!¡±


    Outside the parlor room, several men wearing anti-detection camouflage uniforms suddenly appeared as if out of thin air in the once empty hall. Some of their bodies were even still covered with leaves and grass. All the windows were broken, so it was not hard to guess where they were hiding, and where they broke in from. All of them were holding knives in their hands that gave off cold glints.


    When coming over from the Capital, one would have to go through frequent border checks. It was hard for guns or any other weapons to escape detection. Whether it was a laser gun or a traditional gun, they had sophisticated instruments to detect their traces after use. Then, it would be easy to find any clues afterwards. The only way to avoid detection was to go by the most ancient way: using cold weapons.


    Even though the lethality and the attack distance was limited, and it required high technical skill, this was enough. After all, Adrian who had entered the manor through the normal way had already accepted the security check at the entrance. He did not carry any weapons on his body and was truly unarmed at this moment.


    All the doors and windows were covered, and the number of people in the parlor room behind them were more than those in the hall. Clearly, they had been preparing to take action in the parlor room.


    ¡°Just dodge! Don¡¯t initiate them.¡±


    That was the only thing Adrian could warn Zhong Yan of. He raised his arms and warded off the blows of two of the assassins that had rushed towards him. He swept his eyes through the chaotic scene, and the only peace of mind he could get was the fact that this gang of people were doing just as he guessed: they were all aiming at him. Since his guard was covering his back, he also received their attention, but the heat on him was less than Adrian. Meanwhile, hearing his order, Zhong Yan practically received no attacks at all.


    Zhong Yan was an extremely stable man when it came to big matters, and he was never controlled by his emotions. Adrian had always put faith in this point. Take for example, Zhong Yan must be feeling very anxious inside at this moment, but he was still very clear on why Adrian ordered him to do that. He wasn¡¯t good at fighting in the first place. He never learned any of the techniques, and his strength was also lacking. If he ignored all that and tried to help, not only would he be of no deterrence to the assassins, he would even be done in by the assassins for being an obstacle. If that happened, Adrian would even need to spare some effort to save him. So, without a word of discontentment, he retreated to the walls and watched the fight anxiously while also scouting for an escape route.


    There was an archway not far from here, and behind it was the dining hall. Zhong Yan found a gap and ran to the dining hall. Fierce fighting was heating up right behind him, and what he saw before him was a luxurious dining table. The long dining table was well-furnished with cutlery on both ends, as well as a wine bucket, and candles at the center. Zhong Yan rushed over without hesitation and pulled out the knives from the two dining sets.


    There were two large bright windows in the dining hall that were still intact. This meant that none of the killers broke in through the windows from this room, which also implied that the outside was safe. As long as they escape from these windows, they¡¯ll be able to leave this building that was filled with killing intent and live to see another day. Without even looking at the two windows, Zhong Yan took the knives and ran back to the hall without hesitation.


    Since graduating and getting out of the training programs in the Supreme Institution¡¯s military academy that sought to help individuals ¡°break through their limits¡±, Adrian had indeed been rarely forced to this point in these recent years. He was already wounded, and due to him bearing the brunt of the attacks, his injuries looked to be much more serious than that of his guard¡¯s. His high level of skill in close-quarters-combat enabled him to protect his heart and neck, as well as other vital areas, but his limbs were already bloodied up.


    Being unarmed was really too much of a disadvantage. Sometimes when dodging was impossible, he could only block the blows with his body. And, this group of people were well-trained hardened assassins who would rather get hurt themselves than to lose their holds on their weapons and give him the opportunity to grab them.


    He can still hold on at this point, but his guard was clearly strained. The longer this went on, the more serious the injuries of his body would become, and the more it would impact him. The battle was already at a deadlock. Adrian swept his eyes over to Zhong Yan who was at the wall. He was obviously staring at him with eyes that seemed to be hinting something. Both his hands were behind his back, and a cold glint could be seen at his back, which helped Adrian understand his intentions immediately.


    Another life-threatening slash came. Adrian ducked under it and tumbled over the ground, avoiding another strike in the air. At the same moment when he was getting up, two shining silver tools slid quickly across the ground to him. Nimbly, he intercepted the two knives with each hand and got up to block the next wave of attacks.


    Clink!


    The sharp clash of two blades rang out within the hall for the first time. The young guard who had become downtrodden suddenly perked up, and looked over subconsciously just to see Adrian getting through the guard of one enemy to get closer to him, and shouting, ¡°Catch!¡±


    A knife came flying over. Adrian helped him stop one of the assassins who tried to intercept them, and the guard successfully caught the knife from the air. With the force of his anger, he thrust the blade down, and the dull dining knife dug straight into the neck of the killer that was temporarily caught under Adrian¡¯s control from his exertions.


    At the same time the knife was pulled out, blood spurted out like a waterfall; the first casualty finally emerged within this room.


    Adrian had once been the leader of the military academy, but he was not the top of every battle category. However, the biggest contribution to his overall ranking was his solo combat capabilities.


    Using only his body as a weapon, he was still able to fight against many other enemies by himself, much less with a blade in his hands now. A single dining knife was able to multiply his lethality considerably. After the first assassin fell, a few others fell into the pits of death under Adrian¡¯s hands in just a few short minutes. No matter how well-trained they were when they were still alive, a dead person could not keep their weapons from being snatched away. Soon after, Adrian and his guard were able to exchange their dull knives to tactical blades. Bloodied blades that were made to kill.


    Qu Yongyi who was hiding behind the parlor room door watched as more than half of his men fell and felt the situation had turned for the worse. He shouted loudly, ¡°Forget it! Use it now! It¡¯s better to leave some evidence than to get killed by him here!¡±


    These words woke Adrian up. With his sharp eyes, he was able to see one of the people near him put a hand into the bulging pocket of his combat trousers, and forcefully made a move despite the dangers of leaving his back open to severe the man¡¯s arm with one strike.


    That assassin who tried to produce something from his pocket but failed let out a pained cry. Blood poured out of his dismembered arm, and he quickly lost his ability to fight.


    ¡°Shut up, you coward!¡± One amongst the group of assassins shouted out. Qu Yongyi was so scared that he immediately returned to hide in the parlor room and didn¡¯t dare to show his face any longer.


    This voice emerged just a while ago. Zhong Yan looked towards the person who spoke. It was Qu Yongyi¡¯s ¡°assistant¡± from earlier. Of all the assassins in the room, he was the only one not in camouflage, so even if his face was easy to forget, it was hard to lose him. Zhong Yan stared firmly at the man¡¯s face and turned on his terminal in the midst of the flashing blades and flying blood, quickly scrolling through the data in his terminal.


    Found it!


    ¡°Kohler Lanz!¡± Zhong Yan yelled out, ¡°Your parents and your wife are now under Bard Pearson¡¯s control, did you know? Once you finish this task and return, he will use your child to force you to commit suicide. Did you know that? The assassin working under you last time, Ang Lake, that was how he killed himself, and his family didn¡¯t receive the compensation Bard Pearson promised at all. Did you realize any of this?!¡±


    The killer named Lanz was extremely determined and unmoved, but some of the assassins amongst them were affected, especially those who knew the man called ¡°Ang Lake¡±. As soon as they heard that, they couldn¡¯t help but be distracted, but they were stabbed straight through the heart by Adrian¡¯s guard in the next second, thus ending their lives.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense!¡± Lanz yelled, ¡°Use your emergency weapons!¡±


    Of the few remaining assassins, there were people who immediately took out a small metal spray bottle. This person stood behind Adrian, and this time, he was unable to stop him, and could only hear his guard shouting, ¡°Commander!¡±


    Adrian had just repelled a deadly attack, only to feel himself being pushed fiercely away by someone, landing on the ground. He slid across the smooth ground from the inertia. He watched as his guard took the spray for him, which caused him to stop immediately. Without fighting back, he fell to the ground and started to squirm before his body stopped moving completely.


    It can¡¯t be poison. Adrian immediately judged that if it was poison, then they would definitely have to deal with the body, otherwise the autopsy would determine the cause of death. For a toxin powerful enough to be fatal with such a small dose, there were only several kinds in the world, and they were all strictly controlled. So, it would be very easy to find out who was behind this. This wasn¡¯t the ¡°bit¡± of evidence Qu Yongyi mentioned earlier.


    Then it was most likely a powerful hallucinogen.


    Only four killers were left. Fortunately, they kept their primary goal in mind, and didn¡¯t waste their time giving the guard an extra stab to infuriate Adrian, and instead, all of them rushed towards him.


    The ones who could persist till the end were all the elite amongst the elites. Three blades clashed with Adrian¡¯s, but Lanz did not come forward, and instead took out a small metal vial from his pocket.


    ¡°Ade! Watch out!¡±


    Hearing Zhong Yan¡¯s loud and anxious reminder, Adrian subconsciously held his breath and dodged to the side. A colorless spray of mist dispersed right past his ear, and all three of the killers that were close to him were affected. After a sway, they all fell down. Adrian was able to receive a timely reminder, but a small amount of the gas had still entered his blood circulation through the exposed wounds on his body.


    He had received a very strict anti-drug and anti-fainting training. Especially in tight situations, even if it was a strong hallucinogenic drug such as this, he could still force himself awake if you gave him a few seconds and if it was only a small amount of contamination.


    But in an ever-changing situation, he didn¡¯t have the privilege of time. Adrian¡¯s body swayed, and he fell to one knee while his consciousness drifted from him.


    Zhong Yan snatched a knife out of one of the corpses and tottered over the sea of bodies, crossing over to Lanz who was running towards Adrian. But in the next second, the knife was knocked out of his hands by the professional killer like a toy.


    If Fayn or any of Adrian¡¯s guards were here, they could help Adrian hold out for a few moments while he recovered, but unfortunately, it just had to be the Zhong Yan who had zero combat ability. From the looks of it, he couldn¡¯t hold on for even two seconds.


    Lanz had a smug sneer on his face as if he was simply dealing with a child. With one strike, he easily plunged his blade into Zhong Yan¡¯s abdomen. Right after pulling out, he was going to cut Adrian¡¯s neck next.


    But that smile on his face went stiff on his face in the next second. Zhong Yan clung to his arm with all his strength, not allowing that knife to leave his body. He mustered every last bit of strength he had in his body, and Lanz was actually unable to tear away from him. Overcome with anger, he howled, ¡°Damn it! Get away from me! Scram!¡±


    Without any fighting abilities, he could only use the most foolish way of using his own flesh and blood as a shield.


    Lanz couldn¡¯t make any big movements with his arm, so he could only tear the blade halfway out and shoving it back in over and over again from different angles in an attempt to get rid of Zhong Yan by pain or death. In just a short few seconds, Zhong Yan¡¯s body had already gone soft, and he was no longer clamped down on the man, falling down onto a pool of his own blood.


    But this was enough.


    At the same time that Zhong Yan went silent, the strongest warrior had awoken.

 Chapter 54 - Unrestrained Spending

    Pain had completely drowned out his thoughts. Zhong Yan never knew that such pain could exist, and his thoughts had completely stopped. He could only hear the roar of a man that sounded like an injured beast, and the dull sound of a blade piercing a body. Though the sound could pass through his ears, it did not register in his mind.


    The swaying lights were hanging right above him. After a few seconds, or perhaps a few years, when time had lost meaning to him, someone fell down beside him, and the anxious face blocked the light.


    ¡°Xiao Yan!¡± Adrian held up Zhong Yan¡¯s head. His beautiful phoenix eyes were open, but they seemed to have lost their spirit. ¡°Xiao Yan, no¡­don¡¯t, please¡­¡±


    Adrian had never been this scared in his life, nor had he ever killed a person so quickly. Lanz¡¯s body fell beside them and he had already stopped breathing. Adrian couldn¡¯t even care to stab him a few more times to vent his anger, he was only scared of holding Zhong Yan up.


    Adrian cradled Zhong Yan¡¯s face and tried to wipe the blood from it, but his own hands were also stained with blood, so Zhong Yan¡¯s face was stained with more and more of it. Zhong Yan blinked. He caught onto Adrian¡¯s clothes with his hands that were already soaked with blood and said, ¡°It hurts¡­Ade, it hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯ll find someone to save you right away, so don¡¯t be scared. It¡¯ll stop hurting soon.¡± Adrian quickly comforted Zhong Yan, and himself. He immediately moved to stop the bleeding, but only after taking a close look at the injury on Zhong Yan¡¯s belly did he realize how deep the wound was. It had simply been turned into a mess of flesh and blood. Their battlefield first aid guide didn¡¯t talk about how to stop the blood in these situations at all.


    Under these circumstances, they would generally be abandoned on the field.


    But the battle had already ended. With how advanced the current medical technology was, as long as they were treated in time, as long as they had one last breath in them, or even if they only had half their bodies left, they could still be saved. There was no way he couldn¡¯t be saved!


    Adrian gritted his teeth and was just about to go out to find a signal to call for help, but Zhong Yan¡¯s weak voice stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t go¡­just leave me. I don¡¯t think¡­I can hold out any longer. Listen to me¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh, leave that for later, I¡¯m going to find help, I¡¯ll be back as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no time left, listen to me¡­¡± After saying these words, Zhong Yan¡¯s focus seemed to have converged. With much difficulty, he took a deep breath while ignoring the pain. ¡°The password to my terminal is ten years ago from today. The full authorization rights to ¡®Specimen¡¯, and the rest of the important information is inside. A long time ago, Pearson, he said you were a natural during your first two years in Navi. He said you were a revolutionary, and that you would become a big problem, so you had to be dealt with¡­I, through Specimen, have been trying to warn you many times, in these years¡­¡±


    He would be barraged with severe pain every time he moved while talking, so he had to pause after every few words. Only after hearing this did Adrian finally realize that those warnings had not been conveyed to him by Vahl¡­It had always been Zhong Yan!


    ¡°So, you separated with Pearson because¡­¡± His voice trembled as he spoke.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­even Pearson might not know¡­why I insisted, to step back¡­¡± Zhong Yan tried weakly to laugh, but he didn¡¯t even have the strength to move the corners of his lips anymore. ¡°That year I left, I opened, the first specimen store. I wasn¡¯t, seeking for that position¡­It was¡­a way out I prepared for you. You have to¡­quickly tell them, check the situation in, each military command. only when you¡¯re clear, can you fight¡­¡±


    ¡°I got it, so don¡¯t talk about this now. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not going to start a war, we¡¯re only going to use force to defend against conflicts¡­I just went way too overboard that day because I wanted to scare you, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Adrian hurried to explain. Zhong Yan seemed to have become more at ease as he looked at his eyes. Then, his heavy eyelids slowly closed. Adrian suddenly held his face, ¡°Xiao Yan, don¡¯t sleep, don¡¯t sleep. I¡¯m just going away for a few seconds, okay? I¡¯ll be back soon, wait here for me, okay?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s hands clung tightly to his clothes, expressing his refusal. Just as Adrian was about to bear with the pain and move away his hand, it suddenly got noisy outside.


    With the roaring of armored military vehicles coming closer, the sound of them braking could be heard outside the mansion. Fayn led a fully armed elite-team and crashed in. He only had time to verify that the only person sitting on the ground and was still alive in this sea of blood and corpses was Adrian when he heard him shouting at him. ¡°Where¡¯s Wei Lan?! Medical team, hurry up! Quickly! He can¡¯t hold on any longer!¡±


    Fayn had never seen Adrian so uncomposed before, but he couldn¡¯t bother to assess the situation and just pushed the nearest soldier to him. ¡°Quickly go and get the medical team from the rear support vehicle! There¡¯s an emergency, make sure that Wei Lan himself comes!¡±


    The soldier obeyed the order and immediately ran out.


    Fayn took a few steps closer. Only then could he clearly see that the person covered in blood from head to toe was Zhong Yan, and couldn¡¯t help himself from feeling shocked. He immediately turned back and ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t spread out! All of you go outside!¡±


    He saw the hideous wound on Zhong Yan that was exposed to the air and feared that a group of soldiers rushing in would cause the flow of air to stir up the dust and pollute his wound. He took a few steps forward and added a bullet to each of the corpses lying by Adrian and Zhong Yan, making sure that they would no longer pose a threat.


    ¡°My guard, Fayn, he¡¯s injured. He inhaled a powerful hallucinogen, move him out first,¡± said Adrian as he pointed towards the direction in which his guard fell.


    Fayn quickly followed the direction he was pointing and found the unconscious guard and moved him to a place outside where he could get some fresh air.


    Adrian leaned his body over, and said in a gentle yet powerful way, ¡°Did you hear that, Xiao Yan? The doctor is coming soon, so don¡¯t sleep! Talk to me, Xiao Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°The ring¡­what did it look like¡­¡± Zhong Yan muttered.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t throw out the ring! It¡¯s still at home. You¡¯ll be able to see it when we go home.¡± Adrian quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s silver. Very cheap because I didn¡¯t have money at that time. I¡¯ll bring it out and give it to you when we¡¯re home, okay? You have to come home with me. Don¡¯t sleep. Hold on for a little longer.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s breathing was becoming weaker, and his voice was so quiet that he could hardly be heard. Thankfully, Adrian had learned to read lips during his investigations class. ¡°Do you¡­love me again? I¡¯m going soon, Ade, just lie to me¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always liked you! Really! I¡¯ve never stopped liking you! Right, didn¡¯t you say you wanted to start over? We can start over as long as you live on¡­No, let¡¯s start over right now, okay? Please marry me. Zhong Yan, will you promise me that?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± A flash of pleasure could be seen in Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes that were gradually dimming. His lips were moving weakly, and though he could hardly see it move, Adrian could still read the words from his lips: ¡°You¡¯re really kind¡­¡±


    The moment he read those words, it simply felt as if an arrow had pierced through his heart. He spent so much time going out of his way to repeat to Zhong Yan how much he hated him that Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t even trust his sincere confession now. He believed that this was only his last favor to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying to you!¡± Adrian¡¯s hot tears dripped down onto Zhong Yan¡¯s face, but he could no longer feel the warmth. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, Xiao Yan, I love you¡­It¡¯s true¡­No, don¡¯t sleep, don¡¯t do this to me, please¡­I beg you¡­¡±


    His tears blurred his vision, and a clear voice yelled out to him. ¡°Move away!¡±


    A pair of powerful hands pulled him, and dragged him away from Zhong Yan with an unshakable force. Adrian quickly wiped his tears and recognized that the figure of that white-robed back was Wei Lan. Fayn was at his side, trying to pull him back to his senses.


    ¡°Let go,¡± Adrian said under his breath.


    Fayn saw that he had recovered some of his senses, so he obeyed and released him.


    Adrian asked, ¡°Can he be saved?¡±


    ¡°He can.¡± Wei Lan was in a hurry to deal with his wounds and responded without even turning back.


    Anybody was willing to lie in order to comfort him, but Wei Lan wouldn¡¯t. The boulder hanging on Adrian¡¯s heart finally fell, but he quickly heard Wei Lan saying before he could even relax his breath, ¡°He needs a large blood transfusion immediately before I can begin the operation. What¡¯s his blood type, Commander?¡±


    Adrian was just about to open his mouth when suddenly, he stopped as if something had caught his throat.


    Another doctor took over Wei Lan¡¯s work, and only then was Wei Lan able to take some time out to look at Adrian. ¡°You don¡¯t know? Xiao Lu, take out the blood type detector¡­¡±


    ¡°Type B¡­¡± Adrian said with much difficulty, ¡°Variant class, type B.¡±


    Even the doctors who were busy cleaning the wound couldn¡¯t help themselves from looking over, and their voices cracked. ¡°Variant blood type?! That¡­We don¡¯t have that type in the portable blood bank we brought.¡±


    Even Wei Lan was frowning, but he passed on the instructions practically without pause. ¡°First, give him artificial blood to hold him on. Then, Commander, you¡­¡±


    Adrian quickly responded, ¡°I¡¯ll contact the blood banks nearby. How long can the artificial blood hold him?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother with any blood banks more than an hour away, there¡¯s no time.¡±


    Several doctors carried Zhong Yan to a stretcher and transported him out of the mansion that was filled with corpses. The rear support vehicle was already outside. They had to transfer Zhong Yan to the sterile room in the vehicle to continue treatment.


    Before getting in the vehicle, Wei Lan¡¯s last words to Adrian were: ¡°Two hours is the limit. Going by the regular course, artificial blood can be inserted for a maximum of ten to twenty minutes. When it goes past half an hour, I have to pull out the transfusion needle. In the ischemic state, he can hold out for at most half an hour. For the first hour, at least get him one batch of blood, but a large amount of blood is needed in the follow-up, so start contacting the blood banks from nearby to far away.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s lips were pursed tight and he nodded to show that he understood. Fayn and the two other officers standing next to him were busy trying to contact the nearest blood banks, but after hanging up their calls, their expressions were heavy.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°We have 400 milliliters in our own military command¡¯s general hospital. It¡¯ll take an hour¡­I¡¯ve already asked them to send it over in the fastest combat ship we have. It should be able to arrive in time.¡± Fayn said, ¡°Variant blood types are too rare, even more so here. In the blood blanks closest to here, the only large-scale blood bank that has a small amount is a star system away from here. It¡¯ll take at least two hours for them to reach. If we go further¡­Glory System has some, and the distance is four hours away from here¡­¡±


    Adrian clenched his fists and said solemn voice, ¡°Tell all the blood banks who have it to send it over. Immediately notify headquarters to search the files and screen through every person to find who has type B variant blood in the military command. If there is, immediately negotiate with them.¡±


    Fayn nodded immediately. At this time, all of them heard a bustle from outside. Fayn said, ¡°It¡¯s that group of reporters. They¡¯ve already been stopped outside of the manor so they can¡¯t come in, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Adrian said, ¡°There are reporters outside?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We rushed here too quickly so we didn¡¯t get to conceal our tracks and they followed us over¡­Hey, what¡¯re you doing?¡±


    Adrian strode out of the gates of the manor in large strides. The door had long been surrounded until there were no leaks. The Navi military unit saw that it was him and automatically made way. A raging storm was breaking out in Adrian¡¯s silver eyes, and his body was covered in blood as if he had just crawled out of hell. The reporters at the front were stunned by his imposing aura for a moment, and it actually turned silent in an instant.


    ¡°Are all of these cameras on live broadcast?¡± Adrian swept over a dozen hovering cameras that were suspended at a person¡¯s height.


    ¡°Most of them are, Sir Yate,¡± several reporters responded cautiously.


    ¡°Good. I am now offering a reward to the entire Federation. My location is¡­¡± Adrian clearly spoke out his coordinates to the live cameras which were transmitted by hundreds of millions of bitstreams over to the virtual community that was expanded over every inch of civilization. The mysterious uncrowned king of the Navi System appeared covered in blood. In a short few seconds, views were booming, and the numbers were still climbing rapidly.


    ¡°If anyone with type B variant blood can rush here within four hours, for every milliliter of blood, I will offer 1 million standard federation dollars. The reward is now in effect, and the prize money is halved every hour. I will honor with my life the health, safety, and return of any type B variant blood carriers who come.¡±


    The crowd was in a turmoil and all the reporters had gone crazy. A male reporter shouted to confirm, ¡°Sir Yate, did you just say you were offering one million for every milliliter?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Adrian repeated himself, ¡°For every milliliter of blood, I will offer one million. Every ten, ten million. Every hundred, one hundred million.¡±

 Chapter 55 - Heaven

    With such a great reward, the brave will definitely come.


    Just within the first hour, two people managed to rush to the scene, and one of them even insisted on giving out more than a single blood donation, but could only give up with the discouragements of the doctor.


    Fayn found Adrian in the front compartment of the rear support vehicle.


    He couldn¡¯t see the situation within the simple surgery room behind him, but this was the closest place to Zhong Yan. The wounds on his body had been dressed up simply to stop the bleeding, and the bandages could be seen between his open neckline and cuffs. He was sitting on the chair with his head down while his terminal rang from time to time, half of them coming from his own wrist, and the other from the one he held in his hand: Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal that the doctor passed him earlier. But he just sat there without any reaction and didn¡¯t even bother to mute his own terminal.


    Adrian knew what he would see if he turned on his own terminal. The first thing he would see was definitely the highest priority message. The notification from ¡°Butterfly¡± that congratulated him and Zhong Yan for becoming legal partners.


    And it was that notice that made Zhong Yan keenly aware that something was wrong, dragging him out from the Grim Reaper¡¯s grasps, but putting himself in instead.


    He had known Adrian for nine years, but Fayn had never seen him look so dispirited.


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to help if you just sit here either.¡± Fayn stood in front of Adrian. ¡°The urgent stuff is already dealt with. Don¡¯t you trust Wei Lan¡¯s medical skills? I was hurt way worse than him back then and look at me now. I¡¯m perfectly fine. You were just hit by the hallucinogens earlier so you should get some fresh air right now.¡±


    Adrian raised his head to look at him. Instead of responding to his advice, he spoke in a hoarse voice. ¡°How¡¯s my guard?¡±


    ¡°His external injuries are fine. They¡¯re not as serious as yours, but he inhaled a relatively large amount of the hallucinogens so he¡¯s still unconscious. But the doctor said he should be fine after two days of recovery.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. He¡¯s still young. He should get another check-up after returning to the headquarter¡¯s hospital. It¡¯s best if he doesn¡¯t end up with any side-effects after this.¡±


    Fayn gave him an acknowledging response. Adrian asked again, ¡°Is the search of the mansion over?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s basically over. Two of the assassins are still alive and they¡¯ve been taken into our warships.¡±


    ¡°What about Qu Yongyi?¡± Adrian asked with eyes overflowing with murder.


    Fayn frowned. ¡°He¡­We still haven¡¯t found him. His private spaceship, as well as the assistants accompanying him, are all gone. He probably escaped before we arrived.¡±


    Adrian stroked Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal and was quiet for a moment. Only then did Fayn really begin to worry. From what he knew, Adrian had never been a passive person no matter what sort of serious matters happened. It goes without saying how important it was if they could capture Qu Yongyi, but Adrian actually didn¡¯t react at all when he heard that he escaped.


    Just when he was about to leave Adrian here and head out to arrest him himself, Adrian said gloomily, ¡°Pass on my order. Transfer out the first division unit and seal the border.¡±


    ¡°The border?¡± Fayn was slightly stunned. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t figure out what the relationship between the first division and sealing the border was. ¡°Hasn¡¯t the border always been sealed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about our borders.¡±


    Only then did Fayn realize what he was saying. He was shocked. ¡°You want to seal Lebor¡¯s borders?! Do you know how serious that move is?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very clear. This is the result of my deliberation.¡± Adrian took no refusals. ¡°Is Intron in our warship? Contact him, tell him to check the list of Qu Yongyi¡¯s entourage. Don¡¯t miss a single name. I want the ones still alive.¡±


    Fayn calmly asked, ¡°Lebor is within ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ scope of control. We¡¯ve already received serious warnings and interception just with me bringing in a small troop earlier. Even though this place is remote and the Capital¡¯s forces won¡¯t be able to reach here for a while, ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ orders have no limits on their distance. What if he orders the Lebor System¡¯s troops to resist us?¡±


    ¡°Look for Intron. Ask him to release a joint announcement with us. On the way of Councilor Zhong Yan¡¯s return, he was met with Qu Yongyi¡¯s armed ambush. He is the interim Council Head of Lebor and his goal¡­This is Lebor System¡¯s provocation towards the Navi System through me, and the Capital at Councilor through Zhong Yan¡¯s.¡± Adrian had clearly thought about it very clearly and ordered without hesitation. ¡°I want the public relations department and legal affairs to polish up the wanted order. Stick on as many crimes on them as possible. Tell the third and fifth units to follow the first unit to the border just to deter them. Do not fire unless it¡¯s an emergency. Hold the twelfth unit in Navi¡¯s borders and prepare heavy duty cross-planet long-range strike weapons. In the event of a crossfire, shoot immediately. Don¡¯t just stand there, Adjutant, execute the order!¡±


    Fayn obeyed. ¡°Yes!¡±


    He turned and left to carry out his orders. Adrian took a few deep breaths to suppress the anger in his heart. Pearson¡¯s move on Lebor seemed to be a rash move, but it was actually a surefire plan. If someone from his party could gain the position of Head of Council, then he could take over that resource-rich star system. Otherwise, he could use his trump card, Qu Yongyi, disguising him as an anti-AI supporter to perform the assassination mission.


    Adrian turned on his terminal and contacted the person from the intelligence department who was in contact with Intron. He wanted to ask ¡°Specimen¡± to provide evidence to help convict Lebor¡¯s Council Head as a criminal.


    The Lebor System. If he moves his troops to occupy it now, then he won¡¯t be returning it to the Capital. In any case, Pearson was too far away from him. Without Zhong Yan around, it would be difficult for him to get his hands on Pearson directly. However, Pearson and ¡°Butterfly¡± had both taken a fancy to the Lebor System that was right on his doorstep, so he will teach them a lesson without standing on ceremony.


    Before Zhong Yan lost consciousness, he had told Adrian the password to his personal terminal. He could turn on Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal and give direct instructions to ¡°Specimen¡± himself, but he did not do so.


    This was what Zhong Yan entrusted to him, but the will is only to be executed after the death of his person. There are still decades before Zhong Yan¡¯s will should really come into effect.


    The terminal password was the most important thing to a person, and the most private. And for such a password, Zhong Yan had actually used the date ¡°ten years ago from today¡±. Only now, after being blank on it for so long, did Adrian finally think of it. Today is the day they got married, then what day was it¡­ten years ago from today?


    He suddenly recalled something, and quickly turned on his terminal to look at the date¡ªTen years ago from today was a Sunday.


    On the second Monday of January every year was the start of school for the Supreme Institution. Ten years ago was the day before school started for the Supreme Institution¡­It was the day he and Zhong Yan met for the first time.


    Adrian looked at the calendar and was out of it for a long time. He used to have Zhong Yan¡¯s birthday as his password, but he changed it after they graduated. But Zhong Yan¡­In these seven years, what did he feel every time he had to put in his password upon opening his terminal?


    The rescue mission lasted for four hours, and Adrian sat in the compartment separated by that wall with a heavy heart for four hours. It wasn¡¯t until Wei Lan walked out of the surgery room and told him himself that Zhong Yan¡¯s life was no longer in danger did Adrian finally loosen up. Due to the immense blood loss coupled with the effect of the hallucinogens, he finally could not hold on after four hours of mental stress, and fell over.


    ¡­¡­


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    When Zhong Yan opened his eyes once more, he stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling light above him for a long time.


    He didn¡¯t know why but his brain felt stiff. Everything seemed like it was covered with a layer of something, and his thoughts were particularly scattered. Only after a few minutes was he able to barely recall that this was the chandelier in Adrian¡¯s bedroom. He had lived in Adrian¡¯s room for more than half a month, so he recognized it.


    After straightening out that thought, he settled down. He wanted to fall back into sleep, but was unsuccessful.


    The soft sound of the door could be heard; someone entered the room. The person walked to the bed and seemed to have put something down at the headboard. Then, a soft touch was felt on his cheek before the deep voice of a man could be heard asking by his ear, ¡°Xiao Yan, are you awake?¡±


    Zhong Yan heard that familiar voice and struggled to open his eyes again. Groggily, he said, ¡°Adrian.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Adrian leaned down and kissed his forehead. ¡°Do you want to drink water? I went out and poured you a glass.¡±


    Water. Zhong Yan thought about it for a while. Water can form lakes, and also the ocean¡­That¡¯s right. The ocean. Adrian. Why is Adrian here? He hated him, he would never treat him this kindly.


    Zhong Yan was clearly distracted, but Adrian waited patiently for his response. Wei Lan told him that the effect of the anesthesia is very strong. It might still affect him for half an hour after waking up, and for a short while, his thoughts may not be too clear, but he will be fine once the anesthetics wear off.


    Adrian would prefer this effect to last a little longer. If the anesthesia wears off, then Zhong Yan would begin to hurt. The painkillers would only relieve his pain to some extent.


    ¡°Is this heaven?¡± Zhong Yan asked seriously as he blinked.


    Adrian didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. He put a pillow under his head and fed him the water through a straw. ¡°It¡¯s not, Wei Lan managed to save you. Now we¡¯re at home.¡±


    While drinking, Zhong Yan stared at Adrian almost as if he had never seen him before, and he didn¡¯t know whether he even understood him or not. Zhong Yan had always been a rational and self-sufficient person. He had never seen him this confused in his life before. Adrian felt an itch tugging at his heart. After feeding him water, he couldn¡¯t help but tease him. ¡°How could heaven look like our home?¡±


    ¡°It is Heaven.¡± Zhong Yan could finally talk after the straw was moved away. ¡°This is how good you are to me in my dreams. That¡¯s the light before death, that thing called¡­the will-o¡¯-the-wisp. Scientific research shows that a person could hallucinate before his death, and that was¡­¡±


    He was trying to explain science on one hand but talking about Heaven from mythology on the other. Also, under the effects of the anesthesia, his words came out slurred, so he started to confuse himself after a short few sentences.


    And when Adrian heard what Zhong Yan said about him treating him this good only in his dreams, he felt his heart hurt. He took his left hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss before raising it in front of him. ¡°Do you see this? Does Heaven have this?¡±


    A very simple silver ring adorned Zhong Yan¡¯s left ring finger.


    ¡°This ring¡­¡± Zhong Yan kept his eyes still on it for a moment and couldn¡¯t figure out what it was for. So, he said his honest, intuitive feelings that he would never say when he was sober. ¡°It¡¯s so ugly.¡±

 Chapter 56 - Don’t Want the Wabbit

    Adrian ¡°¡­¡±


    Was it ugly? Doesn¡¯t it look quite good though? It must be because the effects of the anesthesia was too strong that Zhong Yan¡¯s mind was muddled. He¡¯ll ask again when Zhong Yan was more sober.


    Adrian, who firmly refused to admit that there was anything wrong with his aesthetics, naturally pushed all the blame to the muddle-headed Zhong Yan, whose mind was currently in a mess. Since they couldn¡¯t talk about proper business anyway, he sat by the bed and continued to tease Zhong Yan. ¡°Do you like me?¡±


    All the calm in Zhong Yan¡¯s beautiful phoenix eyes disappeared at that moment, and only a look of pure ignorance was left. Without any hesitation, he said, ¡°I do.¡±


    Flowers were practically blooming in Adrian¡¯s heart. He secretly turned on the recording function on his terminal and urged him, ¡°Say it again.¡±


    Even though his brain was now a paste, he still had a restrained nature. Zhong Yan hesitated, but this was a request made by Adrian. He always satisfied Adrian¡¯s requests, whether it be big or small, so he still said in a whisper, ¡°I like you.¡±


    ¡°I like you too,¡± Adrian told him. Then, he leaned over to place a kiss on his lips.


    Zhong Yan looked dazedly at him, and a faint red blush emerged on his cheeks. He grabbed his blanket with his hands and wanted to bury his face in them.


    Adrian was afraid that he would agitate his wound if he moved and make it hurt even more once the anesthesia wore off, so he quickly got on the bed and held him over the blanket, not allowing him to move.


    ¡°What are you shy about?¡± He teased, ¡°Didn¡¯t you test the goods before we married? What¡¯s with you getting all bashful now?¡±


    Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t understand his sordid words and softly asked, ¡°What?¡±


    He was so cute that it made Adrian giddy, but at the same time, he felt a little guilty. It felt like he was talking about dirty stuff with a pure little child. He quickly cleared his throat and changed the topic. ¡°Cough cough, it¡¯s nothing¡­Right, do you want to see the rabbit? I told Intron to bring the small one over. I¡¯ll bring it over for you to play with, okay?¡±


    Zhong Yan subconsciously reached out to grab the hem of his clothes. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t go.¡± Adrian carefully brushed away the messy hair on his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll go and bring you the rabbit.¡±


    ¡°I want you, not wabbit¡­¡± Zhong Yan said. Then, he realized that he wasn¡¯t pronouncing it quite right, and tried to correct himself in confusion. ¡°Wabbit. Wa¡­bit¡­¡±


    The anesthesia affected his ability to control his tongue. After failing to make the correct sound after several tries, Adrian tried his best to endure, but he still couldn¡¯t resist holding the person in his arms tight as a deep laugh vibrated from his throat. ¡°Alright baby, I¡¯m not going anywhere so you can stop, okay? Good boy.¡±


    Feeling as if he was wronged, Zhong Yan stopped. Finally, he expressed his thoughts resolutely. ¡°I want you. I don¡¯t want you to turn into a wa¡­bit¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not turning into a rabbit.¡± Adrian couldn¡¯t stop himself from laughing. ¡°We have to rabbits at home, do you remember? We have a giant space rabbit with lop ears, a white one.¡±


    Zhong Yan shriveled into Adrian¡¯s warm embrace and started to feel a little sleepy. When he heard that, he was barely able to manage waking up a bit. ¡°Giant space wabbit¡­is there one here?¡±


    ¡°There is. Do you want to see it?¡± Adrian asked. If Zhong Yan really wanted to see it, then it would be quite troublesome. Wei Lan had already warned him, so he wouldn¡¯t dare to move Zhong Yan too much. The rabbit was too big and it couldn¡¯t get into the house. What if¡­he installed a camera in the back yard?


    While he was thinking of a viable method, Zhong Yan suddenly asked after some thought, ¡°So is this place¡­controlled by my thoughts?¡±


    Right, he¡¯s still stuck in the setting of ¡°being in heaven¡± and was even trying to figure out the mechanisms of it. Adrian didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. Before he could say anything, Zhong Yan said with great enthusiasm, ¡°When can I have a bigger one? I had one once. But it¡¯s too small, less than 26 feet.¡±


    Adrian ¡°¡­¡±


    He raised his hand to tap Zhong Yan¡¯s nose. ¡°You ungrateful little thing. Do you know how much effort it took for me to buy that rabbit? The research institute is two star systems away from here. I had to drive the whole day to get there and back just so I could bring you a New Year¡¯s present, and you¡¯re complaining that it¡¯s small? Do you know how expensive lop-eared giant space rabbits are? I¡¯m all broke now, that thing¡¯s already the most valuable thing I own in my assets.¡±


    Zhong Yan was beginning to struggle with opening his eyes. Adrian lightly patted his back to lull him to sleep while speaking softly at his ear. ¡°However, even though I¡¯m almost broke after just getting married, it¡¯s too late for you to regret now. The divorce penalty will be much higher than the refusal fee. As the saying goes, marry a chicken, follow the chicken, marry a dog, follow the dog¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Sleepily, Zhong Yan could only muster a hum, but it wasn¡¯t known whether he was agreeing or not. Slowly, under the soothing male voice and the gentle patting, he fell asleep.


    ¡­¡­


    When Zhong Yan woke up once more, he was woken up by the pain.


    Wave after wave of pain came from his abdomen. He thought he was still in that murder filled mansion house and softly called out, ¡°Ade¡­¡±


    Adrian had always stayed right by his bed, watching over him. After hearing his movements, he immediately shut off his terminal that he was working on and took Zhong Yan¡¯s hand, responding, ¡°I¡¯m here. Xiao Yan, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Zhong Yan turned to look at Adrian, then at the room. All his memories returned, and he quickly raised his left hand despite the pain to look. Sure enough, there was a ring on the ring finger of his left hand. What happened earlier¡­was actually real!


    Since he moved too quickly, he agitated his wound. He was in so much pain that he sucked in a breath. Adrian quickly caught his left hand and reproached him softly. ¡°What are you rushing for? You just had an operation¡­slow down!¡±


    The identical rings present on both their ring fingers clashed together, emitting a crisp and pleasant sounding clink.


    Zhong Yan was eager to confirm it. ¡°This ring is¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the ring I bought seven years ago to propose.¡± Adrian brought his left hand in front of him so he could see. ¡°It¡¯s cheap, but it¡¯s custom made. There was a custom ring shop in the art academy, I chose the design myself. Do you like it?¡±


    Zhong Yan ¡°¡­¡±


    He looked at the inexplicable and unfashionable lines on the ring, as well as the two names that should¡¯ve been engraved on the inside, but were casually printed outside of the ring for some mysterious reason. And the more horrific part was, the names were not engraved, but rather protruding. Zhong Yan truly felt that him saying ¡°it¡¯s so ugly¡± before was wrong. It really should have been ¡°it¡®s too ugly¡±. Adrian was waiting expectantly for his praise, so Zhong Yan tried with difficulty to find the right words. However, he couldn¡¯t sincerely say it looked ¡°nice¡±, so he could only say, ¡°Looking at it closely, it¡­it¡¯s quite special.¡±


    ¡°Right?! I think so too! It¡¯s one of a kind.¡±


    Zhong Yan recalled to when his mind was in a blur, as well as what Adrian had said just now, and a balloon called joy slowly expanded in his heart. But he didn¡¯t dare to believe it, and confirmed carefully, ¡°Why did you give this to me? Is it¡­is it to uphold the image¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean image?¡± Adrian said in dissatisfaction. ¡°I proposed to you yesterday. You¡¯re not planning to reject me, are you? That won¡¯t do, you¡¯ve already put it on, and you¡¯ve already been married for two days. It¡¯s too late to regret it.¡±


    ¡°Who proposes like you?¡± Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter. ¡°I haven¡¯t even agreed and you¡¯ve already put the ring on me.¡±


    Even his eyes were covered in mirth. Adrian watched him adoringly, and suddenly realized he had not seen Zhong Yan this happy in ages. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a twang of pain in his heart. He held his hand and brought it to his lips in a cherishing kiss. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you well from now on.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve always treated me well,¡± Zhong Yan said with his eyes curved pleasantly. ¡°You¡¯re the one who treats me best.¡±


    He had never encountered much goodwill in his life, so he was easy to satisfy. Adrian felt extremely guilty, and he solemnly vowed once more. ¡°I treated you terribly in the past, but I¡¯ll definitely be good to you in the future.¡±


    Zhong Yan responded softly, ¡°Alright.¡±


    His wound was throbbing with pain. As he got more sober, the wound started to get more and more painful. He shut his eyes and endured it for a moment. Adrian held his hand and asked in pity, ¡°Does it hurt badly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­bearable.¡± Zhong Yan sighed. He had never liked having Adrian worry over him, so he tried his best to change the topic. ¡°I think I heard you mention you went broke? Did I hear wrong?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Adrian reached out to caress his face. ¡°Thank god you had a strong will. The operation was a great success so we barely managed to keep our house and cars.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not seem to have understood what he meant, so he asked in suspicion, ¡°Was the operation¡­expensive?¡±


    Adrian hesitated for a moment. Actually, he didn¡¯t really want Zhong Yan to know how much he spent to snatch him back from the Grim Reaper¡¯s hands, but this incident had already exploded throughout the entire virtual community. Yesterday, it didn¡¯t take long for Zhong Yan¡¯s blood type to be dug out. What¡¯s more, the wanted order that was spread throughout the Federation stated it clearly. Qu Yongyi attacked Adrian and Zhong Yan, and both of them suffered serious injuries. Everyone knew that he burnt through all his money just to save Zhong Yan. For a moment, it seemed that no other news could be found within the virtual community at all. Everyone was eagerly talking about the reward video and the relationship between the two of them. Later, even the big news of the Lebor System¡¯s borders being forcibly sealed off by Navi¡¯s troops, and receiving three consecutive serious warnings from the Capital received barely any viewers.


    Zhong Yan would find out sooner or later. Instead of letting him see the gibberish speculations all over the virtual community, he might as well come clean to him right now.


    Adrian tried to understate it as much as possible. ¡°You have a rare blood type, right? So I offered a reward yesterday in order to buy the blood. And rewards and stuff¡­You know how it is, nobody will come if it¡¯s low. Then, a few people came in. The headquarters helped me out with some of it first since I don¡¯t have much liquid assets. Then, to settle the debt, I let them confiscate all the real estate I had besides this house and several transport vehicles. Oh right, speaking of which, I thought about this when I was sitting outside the surgery room. The reason why you like giant space rabbits so much¡­is it because they¡¯re mutated rabbits, and you¡¯re a person with a mutated blood type? Hahahaha¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan glared at him bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s not funny.¡±


    Hearing that, Adrian shut his mouth obediently. But he did not give up in diverting Zhong Yan¡¯s attention. He turned on his terminal and presented his little treasure to Zhong Yan. ¡°You fell asleep earlier so I picked out a new ringtone, give it a listen.¡±


    Zhong Yan didn¡¯t want to listen to that sort of insignificant thing since he still had a lot he wanted to ask, but before he could say anything, he heard a familiar voice being transmitted from Adrian¡¯s terminal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want the wabbit. Wa¡­bit¡­wa¡­wabbit¡­¡±


    ¡°What is that!¡± Zhong Yan threw his other thoughts to the back of his mind, and asked with both anger and embarrassment, ¡°Why did you record that?! Delete it!¡±

 Chapter 57 - Your Techniques are Bad

    While saying that, Zhong Yan was just about to reach out to snatch Adrian¡¯s terminal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move around, doesn¡¯t your wound still hurt?¡± Adrian quickly grabbed his hands and chuckled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you amazing? You want to snatch something from my hands? Are you able to?¡±


    Him being a patient aside, he was never strong to begin with. There was no way Zhong Yan could snatch something from Adrian with brute force. He quickly realized this and deflated. There was no way, so he could only plead softly. ¡°Please delete it¡­Come on¡­¡±


    Even Zhong Yan did not realize that he was acting cute with Adrian right now.


    His tone was so soft and delicate. Adrian had not heard him sound like this before. That voice tickled his heart, he couldn¡¯t bear it and wanted to hear it more. ¡°I¡¯ll delete it if you say something nice.¡± After thinking about it, he added, ¡°What about this? Call me ¡®husband¡¯. If you do, I¡¯ll delete it.¡±


    A light tinge of red emerged on Zhong Yan¡¯s pale face. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around¡­How could you set that as your ringtone? What if someone else hears?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us in here. The closest living thing around us is that rabbit in the backyard. Who¡¯s going to hear?¡± Adrian twisted his words on purpose. ¡°What¡¯s more, so what if someone hears? Am I not your husband?¡±


    Zhong Yan had always been thin-skinned, so it really made him flush red to hear Adrian say the word ¡°husband¡± so directly. He finally realized that Adrian was teasing him deliberately, and retracted himself back into the blanket, aggrieved, and refused to show his face anymore.


    ¡°Xiao Yan? Xiao Yan, don¡¯t be angry.¡± Seeing that he had gone overboard, Adrian quickly tried to coax him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a spousal discount. I¡¯ll delete it if you give me a kiss. Hm? That¡¯s not okay either? Then let me kiss you, okay? Come on, I¡¯m making a big loss here. If you don¡¯t agree then the deal is off.¡±


    Zhong Yan peeked his eyes over the blanket and blinked.


    Adrian leaned down to place a soft kiss on the corner of his eye, and the person who was laying down suddenly raised his head slightly and returned his kiss with a light peck at the corner of his mouth.


    Adrian touched the place that had just been touched by something warm, surprised. Zhong Yan added quietly, ¡°Your service was good. That¡¯s your tip.¡±


    This was the first time he tried flirting with someone in his life, so he wasn¡¯t very good at it. He didn¡¯t dare to look straight at Adrian at all, and he was so embarrassed that he was already blushing to his ears before he could finish speaking. Adrian was feeling light-headed from this sweet and unexpected surprise. He cupped his hands on Zhong Yan¡¯s face like it was a precious treasure. He really didn¡¯t know what to do. A smile could be seen at the corners of Zhong Yan¡¯s lips as he pushed him lightly. ¡°The ringtone.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll delete it right now,¡± Adrian responded. Just as he raised his wrist, his terminal alarm started ringing.


    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Adrian shut off the alarm. He saw Zhong Yan¡¯s confused gaze and explained, ¡°I had a dietitian write you up a healthy diet plan today. We¡¯ll go with a mainly liquid diet until you recover. Then we¡¯ll have to follow the diet strictly. You¡¯ll take three meals daily on time. I¡¯ll be supervising your meals every day from now on.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t even explained everything yet. There was actually an exercise plan as well, but he will implement it after Zhong Yan recovers from his injuries. Zhong Yan had always hated exercising, so it would be best to tell him when the time comes. After teetering at the edge of death, Zhong Yan¡¯s already weak body was in even worse shape. To improve such a weak body¡­Adrian could actually feel how heavy this task was going to be.


    He was going to head out and bring Zhong Yan¡¯s dinner in, but he suddenly felt a slight tug on his clothes.


    Zhong Yan had subconsciously grabbed onto Adrian¡¯s clothes, but he shrunk back abruptly¡ªHe suddenly recalled, Adrian warned him last month not to touch his clothes again. He thought he was going to die yesterday. That was an emergency then, but now¡­He was just about to apologize before Adrian got angry, but his hand that had just shrunk back was grabbed. Adrian leaned over and asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there anything you want to tell me?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhong Yan forgot what he was just about to say in an instant, but Adrian waited patiently for him and softly urged. ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Come back quickly,¡± Zhong Yan said, embarrassed. When he saw Adrian turn around as if to leave, it made him feel very unsettled. How many times had he dreamed about it at night? He dreamed of Adrian¡¯s disappointed figure as he left during that graduation ceremony. He chased him as soon as he got off that stage, but he could not catch him. Seven years had passed since.


    But right now, Adrian was just going out to bring dinner in. Zhong Yan felt like he was being too needy and wanted to say something to save the situation, but Adrian had already started to speak. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come back quickly.¡±


    He took Zhong Yan¡¯s hand and kneeled down before kissing Zhong Yan solemnly on the ring on his finger.


    ¡°You saved my life with your own. From now on, I¡¯ll be by your side for the rest of our lives. I¡¯ll never leave no matter what happens. Forever and ever.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    After dinner, Adrian brought the plate out to be washed in the dishwasher. When he came back, he saw that Zhong Yan had already turned on his terminal and was looking at the news on the virtual screen.


    Adrian pulled a chair over to the bed and urged him, ¡°You still haven¡¯t recovered yet. You should rest. I¡¯ll handle everything, Intron is also working on things your side.¡±


    ¡°I should still handle it by myself. It¡¯ll help distract me. It¡­¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s face was even paler than usual, but he tried to put on a weak smile, ¡°It hurts a little right now.¡±


    If it was able to make Zhong Yan take the initiative to say it was painful, then it was definitely unbearable. Adrian instantly felt restless and he wished he could suffer the pain in his place. With some hesitation, he said, ¡°Should I give you a dose of your painkillers now? This needle should be tomorrow¡¯s dose, but I can call and ask Wei Lan if we can administer it earlier.¡±


    ¡°No need¡­I can still bear it.¡± Zhong Yan was gasping lightly as he asked Adrian, ¡°Where are you sleeping tonight?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be sleeping, I¡¯ll watch over you. If I get tired, I can just rest here by your bed for a while.¡±


    Zhong Yan wanted to say something, but Adrian thought he wanted to persuade him to get proper sleep upstairs, so he quickly interjected, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I was sleeping during the day before you woke up too, so I¡¯m not tired.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­¡± Zhong Yan pursed his lips. He thought that saying this straight out may be too bold, but¡ªAdrian said it before, they were already married. They were legal partners so it should be normal. He kept trying to mentally prep himself through, but he still hesitated a little when he said, ¡°I wanted to ask whether you wanted to¡­uh¡­I mean, if you¡¯re willing, you could share a bed with me.¡±


    Adrian was surprised. ¡°Really? I was worried I¡¯d bump into you in my sleep¡ªOh right, since I¡¯m going to be up watching over you anyway, can I get in now?¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded. Adrian had always been the proactive type. He carefully moved Zhong Yan inside a little. Normally, Zhong Yan was light enough that he could easily lift one of him in each hand, but he was too afraid that moving him too quickly might open Zhong Yan¡¯s wound again. He went back and forth, moving his head and legs slowly each time, and every time he did, he would ask him if he had hurt him. After going through this process for a few minutes, even the slowpoke Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so careful, the surgical techniques these days aren¡¯t like what they were thousands of years ago. Just a few days is enough to fully recover.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s other people, do you know how bad your physical qualities are? There¡¯s no way you can recover in less than half a month.¡± While saying that, Adrian crawled in bed and helped Zhong Yan fix his blanket before holding both him and the blanket in his arms. ¡°What¡¯s more, of course I have to be careful. You¡¯re my only precious baby, who am I going to cry to if I break something?¡±


    Zhong Yan was amused. ¡°How am I going to look at the news if you wrap my arms up in the blanket?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at it anymore. I¡¯ll help you get distracted by chatting with you.¡± Adrian said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you anything you want to know. Oh right, I actually do have something I need to tell you. I had Wei Lan remove¡­the scar under your ribs.¡±


    Zhong Yan was stunned, then his complexion changed¡ªThat¡¯s right, his scar! All those doctors saw it when they were doing the operation¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know the reason why you never had it removed was because you couldn¡¯t bear to have anyone see that scar, but your wound broke up that scar yesterday so the words couldn¡¯t be seen. I asked Wei Lan to get rid of the remnants as well¡­From now on, nobody will ever find out.¡± Adrian brushed his fingers through his soft hair. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already had your revenge, just let the past stay in the past. You have me now, we can make new memories together, and cover all the bad ones.¡±


    Zhong Yan moved his hands from under the blanket to touch his ribs through his shirt. There once was a shameful mark there. It wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t want to get rid of it, but he was too ashamed to let anyone see it, even if it was a surgeon. Even two days ago, the night his body merged with Adrian¡¯s for the very first time, he felt so embarrassed by that mark on his body that he didn¡¯t even dare to take off his shirt under the lights. Right now, the brand that had followed him for half his life, forcing him to constantly recall his inferior childhood and shame was completely gone.


    With his body as a shield, he saved Adrian¡¯s life, and also gave himself a new lease in life.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, sweetheart.¡± Adrian could see the corners of his eyes getting red and was worried he¡¯d cry. Wei Lan had warned him that he shouldn¡¯t be stimulated these two days, so he tried to tease him on purpose. ¡°Hey, so does this mean we don¡¯t have to turn off the lights in the future?¡±


    As expected, he managed to make Zhong Yan laugh. ¡°Now that you mentioned that, I¡¯ve got questions for you too. Have your former partners never said anything to you?¡±


    Former partners? What partners? Suddenly, Adrian recalled how he boasted to Zhong Yan that he had ¡°tons of experience¡±. He wanted to explain that that was actually his first time, but he still wanted to listen to what Zhong Yan wanted to say before that. He was confident that it had to be a compliment, so he asked with pleasure, ¡°Said what about me? That I¡¯m big?¡±


    Zhong Yan was stunned by his straightforward self-praise and gave Adrian a grumpy shove. ¡°No! I¡¯ve read the books and it¡¯s reasonable to say if that if properly done, both parties should experience great pleasure. But that day¡­Well, uh¡­has anyone ever told you that¡­your techniques are bad?¡±

 Chapter 58 - Concession

    No man could bear to receive such an evaluation from their partner, much less a man like Adrian with such a strong sense of pride. He lost his temper instantly. ¡°You didn¡¯t even give me time to prepare before blowing up the bomb on me! I was relying completely on my theoretical foundation. I think I already managed pretty decently!¡±


    Zhong Yan was stunned. ¡°What do you mean theoretical foundation¡­didn¡¯t you say you had tons of experience?¡±


    ¡°I have tons of theoretical foundation experience, okay?!¡± Adrian was depressed.


    Only then did Zhong Yan understand. After all that, it turns out that was the first time for both of these two old virgins. His heart was beating madly as he asked, ¡°So, with other people¡­you¡¯ve never¡­¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m busy enough, where would I find the time to seek someone out for something like that?¡± Adrian complained dramatically, ¡°I kept my body pure for you for so many years but you still complained about my techniques. Where am I going to practice? Maybe one day I can go out to practice before¡­¡±


    Zhong Yanglared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡±


    ¡°No no, I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Adrian quickly expressed his loyalty before laughing. ¡°Gosh, you¡¯re so fierce. We¡¯ve only been married for two days. No wonder they used to say that getting married is no different from taking a step into your grave. Life is going to be hard in the future¡­¡±


    When it came to Adrian, Zhong Yan had always been very petty. In the past, when they were ¡°close friends¡±, Zhong Yan had disliked Fayn for so many years only because he got close to Adrian and shook his own position as ¡°Adrian¡¯s best friend¡±. He was still stuck on that till now. It was worse now that they were mutually exclusive to each other. Zhong Yan warned him. ¡°You¡¯re mine alone, the law recognizes that. Don¡¯t break the law.¡±


    Adrian listened to his serious declaration of sovereignty and could not help but laugh. Zhong Yan smacked him through his blanket. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh! I¡¯m serious!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m serious, I won¡¯t break the law.¡± Adrian put on a straight face and said in a fake serious manner, ¡°I¡¯ve always been a good law-abiding citizen.¡±


    ¡°A law-abiding citizen who forcefully seized an entire star system.¡± Zhong Yan laid firmly in Adrian¡¯s arms with only his face exposed. He rubbed his face against Adrian¡¯s hand like a gentle little animal and spoke unhurriedly to him. ¡°I just saw the news about you sealing Lebor¡¯s borders. Did you find Qu Yongyi?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is talking about how we were attacked and also our marriage, I¡¯m surprised you saw any other news.¡± Adrian knew that Zhong Yan was a constant worrywart. He had already begun to deal with the situation at hand as soon as he woke up. He told him honestly, ¡°We managed to catch him just this morning. He¡¯s already been taken to Navi¡¯s primary star. My men are interrogating him now.¡±


    ¡°Then, when are you going to withdraw your troops from Lebor?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to withdraw my men.¡±


    Unperturbed, Zhong Yan calmly responded. ¡°You¡¯re not withdrawing? Are you going to redress the former council heads and duplicate the whole White Aegis route again?¡±


    Adrian appreciated how composed he was, and how nothing ever made him anxious. Now that their ideas were well-matched, their tacit understanding made Adrian extremely pleased and he couldn¡¯t help but lean down to kiss Zhong Yan¡¯s cheek. ¡°You know me best.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re talking serious business, what are you doing?¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s wound was hurting so he didn¡¯t dare to speak too quickly. He spoke slowly, but he did not sound like he was blaming him at all, and instead sounded amused. ¡°How¡¯s the collection of evidence going?¡±


    ¡°Just about done. Most of it was provided by ¡®Specimen¡¯. The intelligence department on my side is working on it. At dawn tomorrow, my men will go to Lebor¡¯s prison and speak personally with the former head of council.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded. ¡°Lebor¡¯s former Council Head will be very willing to help. ¡®Butterfly¡¯ sacrificed him and pushed him onto the road of no return. You¡¯re handing him an olive branch. This is a good chance for him, and what¡¯s more, you¡¯ve both worked together tacitly on the White Aegis matter. You could say you¡¯ve had a ¡®cooperation¡¯ before.¡±


    ¡°Not bad, that¡¯s exactly what I thought. After all that work, Pearson caused a big uproar. He definitely must not have expected that Lebor would land in my hands.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too relaxed yet. You still haven¡¯t gotten Lebor. Lebor System is still within ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ jurisdiction. How did the Capital react when you stepped in just like that? You had a reason when you went to search for the fugitives so they couldn¡¯t go as far as to send their troops. Otherwise, it would be difficult to control the public¡¯s opinion.¡± Zhong Yan made a guess, ¡°Did they give you a severe warning? Or several?¡±


    Adrian asked, ¡°Did you really not see the news? Aren¡¯t your guesses a little too accurate?¡±


    ¡°I just know more about the round table meetings and those people,¡± Zhong Yan sneered, ¡°Among the twelve, Pearson is basically the only person who wants to fight. He¡¯s a radical who wants war. On the other hand, your grandfather is on the same camp that I appear to be on the surface, the conservative type. The remaining representative members are no fools. Now that Qu Yongyi¡¯s matter was revealed, they must have figured out what was going on. Qu Yongyi is just a normal high-level council member. He doesn¡¯t have the guts to form a plan to assassinate you. What¡¯s more, Pearson actually agreed to concede without any struggle when it came time to decide on the candidate. They should also be able to guess that Pearson is the man behind all this. I don¡¯t even need to participate to know what they talked about in the emergency round table meeting yesterday. But who would¡¯ve known that you have the evidence in your hands? If the Capital sends troops to Navi right now, and you happen to have conclusive evidence that a representative member planned to assassinate you, the credibility of the Capital will be destroyed once word gets out. Anyway, things would be fine if they were able to suppress you with force, but if they can¡¯t, things will be bad. They¡¯ll lose the people¡¯s trust and it will be easily subverted. They won¡¯t take that risk. This is how the countless plans to take down Navi have failed in the round table.¡±


    During the highest-level meetings of the Navi Military Command, everyone had also been speculating on the Supreme Council¡¯s thoughts, but this is still the first time Adrian had heard a representative member personally describe the happenings at the round table. He tucked in the representative councilor in his arms and raised a brow. ¡°Is this view of you conservatives?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®us¡¯ conservatives, it¡¯s ¡®they¡¯ conservatives points of view,¡± Zhong Yan stressed. ¡°They are more inclined to scope out Navi¡¯s military strength before making any plans, and this is also the reason why I am able to come to Navi. It is by the support of this faction that I am able to come.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re counting on you to come to Navi to explore its military strength, but now look what you¡¯re up to? You¡¯re in the home of Navi¡¯s commander busying about with your rabbit every day. This is a serious dereliction of your duties, Councilor Zhong Yan,¡± Adrian laughed.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I got hurt from a space pirate attack? First, your dad attacked me, and now you¡¯ve kept me under house arrest. I still have to recover from my injuries. How am I going to work?¡± Speaking up to this point, Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°As expected, people can¡¯t lie. I lied and said I was injured by space pirates last time and didn¡¯t return because I had to recover from my injuries, and now I actually got what¡¯s coming for me. I really can¡¯t go back now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about going back once you¡¯re better either,¡± Adrian said, but then he stopped.


    Zhong Yan did not answer. They all realized at once that when it came to business, they would inevitably touch that topic in their conversations.


    ¡°Xiao Yan, I thought about it carefully,¡± Adrian said. ¡°You told me before that I was too demanding of you, asking you to be a saint among saints and whatnot. Saying that you had to do more¡­You¡¯re right. I like you, so I had different expectations for you. I kept feeling that it wasn¡¯t enough for you to just do good things, and wanted you to be compassionate at the same time, that¡¯s my fault. You have the ability, and the ambition. Since you want that position¡­I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    Zhong Yan turned his head to look at him in astonishment, but his actions were too big and it caused his wound to hurt, but he didn¡¯t care. His unexpected joy was showing in his eyes.


    ¡°However! Don¡¯t get happy too soon, there are still buts.¡± Adrian deliberately put on a straight face and emphasized. ¡°But, we can only establish a presidency under a decentralized system. A centralized sovereign position is not allowed. The terms of office must be made clear, and it cannot be lifelong. Moreover, if we succeed, and you do have the ability to climb up then, the position of vice president will be someone of my own choosing.¡±


    Adrian was a pure yet stubborn revolutionary. Zhong Yan knew that well. Only such a leader with such firm beliefs can stand out at a time when fifty-two of the fifty-three star systems are under the control of artificial intelligence, and protect the last pure piece of land. What¡¯s more, he was about to take the first shot since the implementation of artificial intelligence hundreds of years ago. But for someone like him to actually be able to concede when he knew that Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t thinking the same thing as him¡­


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s all fine.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was a little choked while he spoke. He cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to disappoint you.¡±


    Adrian held Zhong Yan even tighter in his arms. His partner was not a person who was purely ¡°good¡±, nor did he have any intentions of becoming the kind of ¡°good¡± he wanted, but what could he do? Who told him to fall in love with this person? After entangling with each other for ten years, he had also recovered his consciousness. The instant he saw Zhong Yan¡¯s body fall in front of him, he had already given in. No matter what kind of person Zhong Yan was, he was fine with it. He is the one for him for the rest of his life. Even if Zhong Yan left one day, and couldn¡¯t be saved, he still wouldn¡¯t have anyone else in his heart.


    Two days later, Zhong Yan could get out of bed on his own and walk slowly.


    This is the day when they would announce ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± misjudgment towards Lebor¡¯s former Council Head and the other three members. Qu Yongyi¡¯s interrogation had also come to an end. Zhong Yan even arranged for Intron to leave Navi today with Bayer back to the Capital. Everything was piled up at once, and Adrian had been working remotely these past few days, so he had to go to headquarters today. Before he left, he settled Zhong Yan down in a wheelchair and nagged him for a full twenty minutes on a variety of matters before leaving under Zhong Yan¡¯s urging.


    Without Adrian at home, Zhong Yan pushed his own wheelchair over to the backyard to see the rabbit.


    The giant space rabbit kit was basking in the sun in its own nest. Zhong Yan rode a circle around it on his wheelchair and was depressed to find that it didn¡¯t grow in size at all. It was still so small.


    Suddenly, Zhong Yan had a new discovery.


    One the other side of the giant square nest was a small, compact wooden cabin four centimeters square. Be it the material or the shape, they were both exactly the same as the giant space rabbit¡¯s nest. Clearly, it was also one of Adrian¡¯s creations. What did Adrian make this small house for?


    Just as Zhong Yan stopped suspiciously at that small compact hut, he saw the palm-sized rabbit he had purchased to make excuses probing its head out from inside.

 Chapter 59 - Lifting the Ban

    Zhong Yan picked up the small bunny and placed it on his lap before touching the giant space rabbit beside him. Unexpectedly, he ended up with a handful of dust. He was at a loss for words as he looked up at the big white rabbit, and decided to wait for Adrian to come back to tell him that it¡¯s time to wash the rabbit.


    Then, he steered his wheelchair one circle around the backyard, completing the task of ¡°getting fresh air¡± as Adrian ordered before heading back to the house. Thinking about how dirty the big rabbit was and how the small one had also been kept in the backyard for so many days, it was probably in just as bad of a condition. He touched the small rabbit¡¯s fur and returned to the kitchen to fill up a basin of water before rolling up his sleeves, and washed the rabbit.


    After washing it, Zhong Yan went to the bathroom to bring out the hairdryer to dry it. However, the rabbit was too small, so as soon as he turned on the hairdryer, the strong winds blew the rabbit away and made it tumble backward. Zhong Yan quickly turned off the hairdryer. Since the room was warm anyway, there¡¯s no need to worry about the rabbit catching a cold. So, he wiped it dry with a towel.


    The little rabbit was sick of being tossed around by him since long ago, so as soon as it was returned to Zhong Yan¡¯s lap after cleaning up, it immediately laid down and shrunk into a ball, continuing to sleep.


    Zhong Yan petted the rabbit with one hand, and seeing that it was just about time, he turned on the live broadcast.


    Lebor¡¯s former Council Head and the other two council members have already been taken out of prison by Navi¡¯s army. They were now holding a joint conference with the senior officials of the Navi Military Command. Everything they spoke about in the conference were things Zhong Yan had already seen prior to this. While listening to it, he followed the sweeping robot around the house in his wheelchair, supervising its work.


    More than a year ago, the incident where ¡°Butterfly¡± made a false judgment against the civilian girl caused a frenzy throughout the entire Federation. If you were to say that the incident led to a sharp decline in the credibility of the Capital and AI among the people, then this incident that involved people from various different forces was confusing in the eyes of the people. The attention this matter garnered was actually less than the clear and simple misjudgment incident from last year, but the people at the top of the pyramid, especially the various council members who held power, couldn¡¯t help but feel the people¡¯s loyalties shake.


    The AI that was said to be ¡°absolutely just¡± actually involved itself in mankind¡¯s power struggles. Moreover, this struggle had already spread out of the Capital and even involved the distant Lebor System. With just one judgment, it had almost ruined the lives of three high-ranking council members, and even the council head of a star system was powerless to resist. If they didn¡¯t chance upon the matter where the Navi Military Command¡¯s leader was attacked, and forcibly intervened in Lebor¡¯s regional administration for the sake of seeking out the wanted criminals, then they may never have gotten to see the light of day again.


    The former Council Head of Lebor was a gentle person with a good reputation amongst the people. But no matter how gentle a person was, there were still limits to their temper. When he was imprisoned, he had completely lost all his tolerance towards the AI.


    At the press conference today, the top rung of Lebor¡¯s council, the ones in charge of its military command, and the person in charge of Navi Military Command gathered together. But the main event was not to clear the names of the three who had been wrongly accused.


    Zhong Yan followed slowly behind the cleaning robot while the reporters were exclaiming in the shrunken window on his terminal. The smart floating cameras were able to recognize the face that was highlighted in the database and had swarmed the man that had just entered the press hall, madly photographing him from all angles.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s wheelchair stopped in the living room. Even though the cleaning robot had already slowly moved away, Zhong Yan didn¡¯t bother with it any longer. He enlarged the window on his terminal and concentrated on watching Adrian who had entered the hall.


    Adrian was dressed in his formal military uniform today. This was the first time Zhong Yan had seen him attending an event in his formal attire since the celebration at the Supreme Institution. The fitted black military uniform was lined with gold accents, while the rank of the star system¡¯s supreme commander was displayed on his shoulder. Compared to his rank, his appearance was so young, but there was no clash. He strode to the front seat at the press hall with a fierce momentum, and on that handsome face were a pair of rare silver irises. When he was not smiling, his eyes looked cold enough to burn, and it made it hard for anyone to dare to look straight at them.


    Zhong Yan looked at him in infatuation for a moment. He snapped a few photos, but then realized that it was unnecessary. This person was already his. He could just ask Adrian to wear it for just him to see once he came home.


    Thinking about it, that was simply too extravagant. Zhong Yan suddenly felt like he had turned into some kind of nouveau riche and didn¡¯t even bother to save the photo anymore. He just steadily sat down to watch the broadcast.


    Several people from the Navi Military Command stood up to make way for Adrian in the center. He sat down. Lebor¡¯s Council Head stood up. He carefully examined the scene, and when he saw Adrian, Adrian gave him a firm nod.


    Adrian was only twenty-seven years old. For federal citizens, this was the age at which your family and career were just getting started. For Lebor¡¯s Council Head who was already in his fifties, twenty-seven was very young. But strangely, it seemed like Adrian was able to make others forget his age with just his presence alone. Once he entered the scene, it felt like everyone¡¯s backs straightened. After he nodded, the council head felt like he had been infected by his firm expression. His heart that was pounding madly calmed down in an instant.


    He announced a decision that was destined to be written down in the history books with a firm and steady voice.


    On this day, Lebor¡¯s Council House united with the Lebor Military Command to announce their separation from the Federation¡¯s Supreme Council and joining of the Navi System. They no longer owe their allegiance to AI, and no longer accepted the leadership of the Capital. Like the Navi System, they will reinstate the human autonomy system, regaining free will for marriage and career choice.


    The person in charge of the Navi Military Command announced their plans to the public, and the reporters on the scene turned silent in an instant. All the reporters were focused on listening about the follow-up measures taken after the dethroning of artificial intelligence. They were quickly typing out the main points on their terminals at light speed.


    Zhong Yan minimized the live broadcast and clicked on an inconspicuous software icon on his terminal. After a few seemingly random strokes, he waited quietly for a few seconds and received a message from his confidant in ¡®Specimen¡¯.


    ¡°They¡¯ve already made the announcement, begin the plan.¡± He ordered the person on the other end. ¡°Add on a few more people to watch the major platforms. Make sure the general direction of the public¡¯s opinion is favorable towards the Navi Military Command¡¯s side.¡±


    After processing, the gender of the voice on the other end could not be distinguished. ¡°Rest assured, everything is prepared. As for the Lebor System¡¯s Council Head, Sheng Ping¡¯s manuscript, we already had the writers from our shop add on the embellishments. It¡¯s too touching, I wanted to cry after seeing it. Do you want to read the final draft again?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t send that out first. We¡¯ll look at the situation after a few hours before deciding. Send the final draft to me again.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°Alright, go do your work, contact me again if you need anything.¡±


    The person on the other end was clearly a young person, and they quickly acknowledged his orders.


    After Zhong Yan read the Lebor Council Head¡¯s pity script, he circled out a point that was inconsistent with Adrian¡¯s follow-up plan before sending it back to that person from ¡°Specimen¡±. Then, he brought up the live broadcast again. The Q&A session had already been going on for a while.


    It seems that the key issues of Lebor System have already been asked several times. When Zhong Yan went back to it, the reporters had already turned their attention to the Supreme Commander of the Navi Military Command who rarely showed his face in public.


    ¡°Commander Yate, you were attacked in the Lebor System a few days ago, so how is your physical condition now? And what about Councilor Zhong Yan?¡± One of the reporters who had been chosen stood up and asked.


    A few of the senior officers from the Navi Military Command who were sitting on stage sucked in a breath of cold air. Even though news had been going around these past few days in the Navi Military Command that Adrian and Zhong Yan had already reconciled, the imprint left behind those past years by Adrian was too deep, so everyone¡¯s fear of that banned word had already sunken deep into their instincts. To think this reporter would actually say that to Adrian¡¯s face in public, everyone in Navi who was watching the broadcast broke out in cold sweat.


    But the real shocker was, Adrian actually didn¡¯t seem angry at all. He responded casually, ¡°Thank you, everyone, for your concern. Councilor Zhong Yan is in the midst of recovery. As for my status, everyone can see it with their own eyes.¡±


    Zhong Yan was very clear that this was also one of the reasons he showed up in public today. He was Navi¡¯s leader, and also the poster child for the entire anti-AI movement. He could get hurt, but he must never fall. When he¡¯s standing, he can bring infinite encouragement and courage to all those who struggle on the same side.


    But Zhong Yan knew that Adrian had only removed all his bandages yesterday. People only cared about whether the Commander was fit to act, and whether he could work again in full state. Only Zhong Yan had caressed the scar left behind by every knife wound, enduring the pain with his own heartbreak.


    At that time, Adrian regretted not having done the laser scar removal surgery. When he saw how dispirited Zhong Yan was, he scooped him up into his embrace and joked, ¡°I¡¯m still a man with a fully functioning body. You¡¯re playing with fire if you touch me all over in bed like that, don¡¯t you know?¡±


    Zhong Yan responded with a sullen hum, but his mood was still down. Adrian had to coax him for a while before he could bring his mood back up, and immediately decided that he would have to find some free time to get those scars removed in the headquarters¡¯ hospital.


    At the press conference, the next reporter that had just been picked stood up and asked, ¡°Commander Yate, you¡¯ve spent a lot of reward money on obtaining the variant blood a few days ago, can you disclose the specific amount?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Adrian responded without any grace.


    But the reporter was not discouraged either and tried to probe again. ¡± In any case, it must be an astronomical sum. So why did Councilor Zhong Yan claim that he could not refuse the marriage proposal because of financial difficulties prior to that?¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°He is indeed quite poor. It¡¯s normal if he can¡¯t afford it.¡±


    ¡°But you have money, right?¡± The reporter asked.


    Adrian responded matter-of-factly, ¡°We weren¡¯t related before our marriage, my money had nothing to do with him at that time.¡±


    He was able to circumvent the reporter, and the reporter actually couldn¡¯t find any problems with his logic so quickly either. Dazed, the reporter asked, ¡°Then, now that you¡¯re a family, do you have any plans for divorce?¡±


    ¡°No, no money, can¡¯t afford it,¡± Adrian responded simply and directly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s give our other media friends a chance.¡±


    Since they¡¯ve already started asking questions like these, it seems like there¡¯s nothing important left at the end. Zhong Yan shrunk the broadcast window and stroked the clean rabbit on his lap. Then, he rolled over to the cleaning robot and continued reviewing its work.

 Chapter 60 - Remote Command

    Train your troops for a thousand days, use them for a short moment.


    News of the announcement of Lebor¡¯s integration into the Navi System spread. When the entire Federation was debating over it, Navi had already readied two regiments to take control of the major planets of the Lebor System in lightning speed. In conjunction with the Lebor Military Command, they forcefully demolished all of ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring devices before the Capital could make any declarations.


    For the Navi Military Command, this was its first large-scale foreign mission since laying low in Navi for so long. Even though they were busy, everything was done in proper order, because they hadn¡¯t only been preparing for the past few days. They had been preparing for many thousands of days and nights just for this day.


    At the end of the press conference, the Supreme Commander himself who had returned to the Navi System appeared in a place that nobody expected him to appear.


    Improvements could be seen recently in Navi¡¯s economy. There was a relatively small planet that gradually gained some fame even in the Navi System thanks to a clothing store that was opened on it that spanned half the planet. Many people have made a special trip to the planet just to buy clothes. And today, dressed casually, Adrian landed in a low-key manner with two of his guards on that small planet.


    But no matter how low-key he tried to be, his face was way too recognizable. He had only visited the first store when half of the planet¡¯s store owners had already heard the news.


    After being attacked, the security level around this Supreme Commander had multiplied considerably. The two guards were standing on guard by Adrian the entire time. Only a single clerk who was casually picked out by Adrian was allowed to follow him, to give Adrian information on their clothes.


    The young salesgirls gathered together to peek at Adrian¡¯s handsome profile from afar and were whispering to each other excitedly. They were also feeling envious towards the lucky girl that had been picked.


    ¡°The Commander is really tall! This is my first time seeing him in person. It feels like he looks even taller in person than in the photos circulating around the virtual community!¡±


    ¡°Of course, he¡¯s usually standing with the adjutant and the rest of the gang in the photos. Adjutant Suster is very tall as well, so he doesn¡¯t look especially tall in them.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the photos that came out from when they were still studying in the Supreme Institution? That time when he was standing with¡­that guy, he looked really tall.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean that guy? Didn¡¯t you see the live broadcast earlier? That name isn¡¯t banned anymore. They¡¯ve already gotten married.¡±


    ¡°You say it if you have the guts. Anyway, I¡¯m not saying it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to say it either¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he wasn¡¯t getting divorced because he couldn¡¯t afford it?¡±


    ¡°Did we watch the same broadcast? I don¡¯t think he means it like that¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw someone posting an analysis and they said¡­¡±


    While the two girls were eagerly discussing the hot comments in the virtual community, another clerk interrupted them and said, ¡°You can talk about that later! Look, it¡¯s weird, the Commander is holding two pieces of clothing and one of them doesn¡¯t look his size.¡±


    The two salesgirls quickly stopped their talk and looked over.


    One of the guards was holding the clothes he had picked out so they couldn¡¯t see the size, but Adrian himself was checking out a warm brown sweater. Strangely enough, he was talking non-stop, but he didn¡¯t seem to be talking to any of his guards or the sales girl next to him.


    After a while, he said a few things to the clerk, and she quickly helped him find the size he needed. Adrian held it out to see, and all the girls watching could clearly see right then: the size of this one was definitely much smaller than Adrian¡¯s body.


    ¡°Should I just get the brown one?¡± Adrian tried to confirm as he turned around and began looking at another row of clothes. Only then did the clerks saw the wireless headset on one of his ears, and the camera function was lit up.


    Clearly, Adrian was talking to someone through a video call, and buying clothes under remote command of the other person.


    That person didn¡¯t come out with him. Perhaps it was because it wouldn¡¯t be convenient to. And when they linked it up with the size of the clothes¡­


    The salesgirls looked back at each other, and all of them made the same, bold guess.


    From a small distance away, Adrian¡¯s voice would occasionally drift into their ears. Even though they couldn¡¯t hear him too clearly, it still didn¡¯t prevent them from hearing the gentle tone of his voice.


    ¡°¡­But doesn¡¯t this look pretty good? Too expensive? It¡¯s not that bad¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll listen to you, I won¡¯t buy it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a red one, how does that sound? I don¡¯t think you have any bright-colored clothes. What do you think about this one?¡±


    ¡°You want me to wear it? ¡­Maybe not¡­Alright, alright, I¡¯ll wear it, I¡¯ll wear it.¡± Adrian turned his head to the side. ¡°Miss, get me two of these, one in the other size, and one in mine.¡±


    Then, he picked out another two sets of pajamas. He had casually bought two sets of pajamas for Zhong Yan last month. Among them was the one with the cartoon prints of the giant space rabbit that he had bought as a nasty joke, and was torn by him the night before Zhong Yan left. It was a good chance now to buy another two sets.


    After stocking up on Zhong Yan¡¯s daily clothes, Adrian was chatting with Zhong Yan about some casual matters and was just about to leave when he suddenly saw an unusual set of pajamas from the corner of his eye.


    Subconsciously, he pressed a button on his headset, not allowing his camera to show that corner. Nonchalantly, he continued, ¡°Then I¡¯ll head back now. No, just settle down, you don¡¯t have to cook. I¡¯ll bring dinner home tonight. Alright, see you later.¡±


    After hanging up the call, he was just about to buy that pair of pajamas, but he suddenly recalled what happened last time. He had only bought a few blankets with Zhong Yan but they ended up being in some illegitimate child rumor. He couldn¡¯t help feeling worried and stopped, turning towards another shop instead.


    After heading out, Adrian suddenly stopped before they could reach the parking lot. He turned around and observed his two guards expressionlessly.


    ¡°Co¡­Commander?¡± None of the guards knew what was going on, but they felt very awkward to be stared at in such a way.


    Adrian asked the older-looking one of the two, ¡°Do you have a child?¡±


    The guard was completely perplexed as he answered, ¡°I do, had one last year. What¡¯s wrong, Commander?¡±


    ¡°Alright, head back to the store we went to last. Go to the kid¡¯s section and pick out an outfit for your child. Take it as a gift from me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Then, help me buy something from there as well¡­¡± Adrian lowered his voice to a whisper and carefully described the pajamas he had just seen.


    ¡­¡­


    When Adrian returned home, Zhong Yan was waiting for him at the door.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Zhong Yan smiled at him. ¡°Welcome home.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s heart suddenly filled up. A long time ago, Zhong Yan would also tell him ¡°Thank you for the hard work¡± every time he returned to the dorm, but Zhong Yan rarely said ¡°Welcome home¡± because it was just a dorm. That place was only their temporary shelter, not their true home.


    Then, he finally got a place he could legally call his own. But every time he returned to that cold and empty house, only silence was there to greet him.


    But now¡ªThe warm lights were on, and it had been carefully adjusted to a comfortable brightness. The living room was still very clean, but there were several cushions on the sofa that didn¡¯t match in color. Those were extras from what they bought for the rabbit, and Zhong Yan had repurposed them for the living room sofa; a table cloth was set over the dining table. It was the floral tablecloth Adrian had bought last time cause Zhong Yan said he needed it, even though it seemed to clash with the minimalistic design of the table; normally, when Adrian was not around much, the tableware left at the table as decorations. Now they were organized on the racks in the open-style kitchen. Some of the dishes were still covered with water droplets. Those were the plates Zhong Yan had just used this afternoon, and the water had not yet dried.


    Not to mention the small and inconspicuous daily necessities that had been added all around the place. The little things were two drinking cups on the coffee table in the living room, and the big was a new roasting machine Adrian had just bought in the kitchen. This multi-storied building was finally filled with life.


    Adrian did not push the wheelchair. He leaned down and picked up Zhong Yan from the wheelchair and carried him over to the sofa and sat down. In a pretentious act, he pretended to be unhappy. ¡°You promised me when I went out. I knew you wouldn¡¯t listen¡ªdidn¡¯t I tell you to leave the plates when you were done with lunch, and I¡¯d clean them?¡±


    ¡°I just put it in the dishwasher and took it back out, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Zhong Yan reached out cheerfully to curl his arms around his neck. ¡°What¡¯s more, you said so much before going out, how could I remember everything? At least I did everything else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to print out all the precautions tomorrow and stick them at home,¡± Adrian laughed. After parting for a day, he wanted to give his legal partner a little reunion kiss. He had just leaned down when Zhong Yan quickly stopped him. ¡°Wait! You¡¯re going to crush the rabbit!¡±


    Having his lovey-dovey moment interrupted, Adrian straightened his body sulkily. ¡°What am I going to crush?¡±


    Zhong Yan took out the small white rabbit bun from his pocket and brought it in front of Adrian. ¡°Look! Doesn¡¯t it look whiter? I washed it today.¡±


    ¡°¡­Does it? Hasn¡¯t it always been white?¡± Adrian picked up the palm-sized rabbit from Zhong Yan¡¯s hand and examined it from its ears to its toes. The small rabbit was woken up by it and kicked out its hind legs unhappily. Zhong Yan quickly snatched it back and stroked its back to comfort it before stuffing it back inside his pocket.


    ¡°I told you not to work. Why didn¡¯t you wait for me to come back before washing it?¡± Adrian complained.


    Zhong Yan patted his chest and laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I left you some work. I only washed the small one. You can wash the big one tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll bring out the hose later. I¡¯ll wash it before I head out to work tomorrow morning.¡± Adrian accepted readily and caressed his face. ¡°Does your wound still hurt today?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore. You don¡¯t have to be so anxious all the time.¡± Actually, it still hurt a little when he moved around, but he didn¡¯t want to worry Adrian so he changed the topic.¡± Right, I saw the live broadcast of the press conference today. Can I talk to you about something?¡±


    The press conference? Adrian¡¯s first reaction was that Zhong Yan wanted to talk to him about business. He wanted to say that he had just gotten some so couldn¡¯t they wait a little before talking about work, but then he heard Zhong Yan ask, ¡°Can I see you wear the military uniform at home?¡±


    ¡°¡­Military uniform?¡± Adrian was stunned. ¡°The one I wore at the press conference?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him with anticipating eyes and nodded.


    Adrian slowly revealed a meaningful smile. ¡°Of course. In exchange¡­you¡¯ll wear the pajamas I just bought tonight, okay?¡±


    Zhong Yan had been watching him buy the pajamas, and one of them was a light-colored one that Adrian picked out. He didn¡¯t quite like the style at the time, but Adrian still bought it. He thought that that was the one Adrian meant, so he did not hesitate to agree.

 Chapter 61 - My Husband

    Ten minutes later, Zhong Yan felt like he had said the most number of refusals he ever did in his life.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not wearing it,¡± said Zhong Yan pitifully in the corner of the sofa as he held the rabbit.


    ¡°You promised me earlier, are you going back on your word?¡± Adrian was dressed in his black gold-rimmed formal military uniform and was holding a white terrycloth onesie.


    The fabric was very soft, and there was even a hood on the fluffy set of pajamas. Two large bunny ears hung softly down from the top of the hood. One could tell at a glance that this was not designed for adults, but who knew why it was available in an adult¡¯s size?


    Adrian said, ¡°I¡¯ve already changed into my uniform, we promised to exchange.¡±


    Zhong Yan raised the little rabbit to his eyes and pretended he never saw Adrian¡¯s clothes. ¡°Then quickly take it off. I didn¡¯t see it, and I¡¯m not looking!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Adrian stepped forward to take the rabbit away from his hands and placed it down on the coffee table. He stood in front of him and leaned down. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take it off now, okay?¡±


    He straightened his body and slowly undid the topmost golden button of his uniform. The former dignified abstinence was destroyed by that loose button, and there was a slight feeling of bold uninhibition added in now. Zhong Yan stared at his well-defined fingers without looking away, then up at his deep and tender eyes, only to feel the air getting hotter, and his breaths growing shorter.


    But those hands stopped at the second button and stopped moving.


    Zhong Yan had always been a very patient person, but he couldn¡¯t bear it anymore in just a short dozen seconds. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why did you¡­stop?¡±


    ¡°Dear, you¡¯ve been watching for so long.¡± Adrian reached out to stroke his cheeks and said in a gentle whisper, ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me you haven¡¯t seen it, right?¡±


    Zhong Yan met his eyes, then, he suddenly felt like running away as soon as he found a gap. Adrian quickly grabbed his waist and secured him to his embrace with one hug. He moved close to Zhong Yan¡¯s ears and chuckled. ¡°What are you running for? You think you can run without paying for your meal?¡±


    Zhong Yan who had failed to escape complained, ¡°What kind of stupid clothes are you buying! If anyone photographs you¡­then wouldn¡¯t everyone find out I¡¯d be wearing that?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I had my guard buy it. I assure you nobody knows.¡± Adrian caught him with one hand and brought the pajamas over. ¡°Hurry up, are you changing yourself or do you want me to put it on you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t wanna.¡±


    Zhong Yan refused him outright. Adrian made a move as if he was going to take off his button, but Zhong Yan quickly reached out to stop him. While the two were messing about on the sofa, Adrian¡¯s terminal suddenly sounded.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Adrian picked up and asked, his voice still sounded cheerful.


    But after hearing what the other side had to say, his expression slowly turned serious. Zhong Yan who was resting in his embrace had also sat up when he saw his expression and put away his smile.


    Adrian gave him a comforting look while he said, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll head over immediately¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Zhong Yan asked as soon as Adrian ended his call. ¡°You¡¯re going to headquarters now?¡±


    Adrian carried him up and returned him to the wheelchair. ¡°No. I¡¯m going to a nearby planet. Stay home like a good boy, okay? You don¡¯t have to wait for me for dinner, and just sleep before me¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Zhong Yan managed to ask cautiously, ¡°Did Qu Yongyi confess?¡±


    Adrian was surprised, and said helplessly, ¡°How are you so smart? Yeah, the person who was interrogating him just told me he was willing to testify, but he insisted on talking to me face to face. I¡¯m going there now to the holding center nearby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going too,¡± Zhong Yan declared.


    ¡°No. You still haven¡¯t recovered from your injuries completely, so just stay at home,¡± Adrian refused. But more importantly, he knew that Qu Yongyi definitely wouldn¡¯t be in good shape after being interrogated for so many days. He didn¡¯t want Zhong Yan to see things like this. The direct visual impact may make Zhong Yan think that he was a cruel man.


    Zhong Yan insisted, ¡°I want to go. I used to work with him and I¡¯ve collected a lot of his biographical information. I might be able to help. What¡¯s more¡­¡± He recalled the shocking moments of that day, and a look of hate could be seen flashing past his eyes. ¡°In case you have no more use for him after he confesses, I want to be the one to fire the gun.¡±


    Astonishment could be seen in Adrian¡¯s eyes. He raised a brow. ¡°Have you fired a gun before?¡±


    ¡°Adrian, I¡¯ve always gotten the feeling that you have certain¡­biases towards people like us, civilian workers, I mean,¡± Zhong Yan said calmly, ¡°You seem to be with the idea that lives would never be taken in the game of intrigue. It is exactly underestimation like that that you¡¯ve ignored several warnings I¡¯ve issued to you several times over the years. So you don¡¯t think a representative councilor has killed anyone?¡±


    ¡°Have you killed before?¡± Adrian asked in turn. He really couldn¡¯t imagine how Zhong Yan would look like killing anyone.


    ¡°Not at the moment, no. But if it¡¯s necessary, I would,¡± Zhong Yan answered him calmly. ¡°The difference is that I don¡¯t have to pull the trigger myself. I only have the issue the order, and somebody will remove the obstacles in my way, just like how Pearson attacked you. I believe Fowler is the only ordinary representative councilor without his own clique or team. When I established ¡®Specimen¡¯, I hoped that he could become your eyes and your ears, so you could be informed of the Supreme Council¡¯s killing intent towards you, but¡­Forget it. Anyway, I will become your eyes and your ears in the future. You can use ¡®Specimen¡¯ however you please.¡±


    He was clearly talking about something bloody and ruthless, but Adrian felt warm after hearing those words. His expression slowly eased up, and he heard Zhong Yan continue, ¡°After saying all this, what I mean to say is that I know much more about the Capital than you do. If you have the need, then let me meet him. Maybe I could get something out of him that you wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡±


    Adrian pondered on it for a moment, but he nodded eventually.


    Zhong Yan leaned forward and fixed up the button Adrian had taken off earlier before carefully arranging his collar for him. He said, ¡°You should go start up the ship. I¡¯ll be out after I change.¡±


    When he arrived with Zhong Yan at the holding center, Adrian never expected that he would actually end up using him.


    After he ended his meeting with Qu Yongyi and came out of the interrogation room, Zhong Yan and the officer in charge who was waiting for him outside could tell the results from looking at his face.


    The person in charge tried to ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Commander? Was it unsuccessful?¡±


    ¡°He wants a way out,¡± Adrian sneered. ¡°He said that Pearson is the main instigator. He wants me to keep him alive in the Navi System, but not in prison. He wants to return to a free life. Is he dreaming?¡±


    ¡°He brought a gang of killers and tried to assassinate our Supreme Commander, and now he wants to weasel his way out of it with a confession?¡± After hearing that, the officer in charge was also visibly displeased. He apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Commander. I was not thorough in my work. Give me two days, I¡¯ll definitely¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± a cool voice sounded.


    The officer turned his head, surprised. When he came in earlier, Zhong Yan had been standing to the side after speaking a few words with Adrian, never moving, nor speaking. His sense of existence was so low that he nearly forgot Adrian came bringing his family.


    Adrian said, ¡°No need, let¡¯s head back for now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already been at it for so many days, nothing¡¯s going to change. He¡¯ll have no more use to you once he confesses, and you won¡¯t keep him around. It¡¯s easier to just kill him than let him stay in Navi, but if he¡¯s sent out of Navi, Pearson will kill him. He knows that very well.¡± Zhong Yan didn¡¯t sound like he was talking about someone who nearly killed him. He sounded calm as if this person had nothing to do with him at all. ¡°You might as well let me try talking to him, it wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°And what are you going to talk to him about?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°That is an extremely selfish and despicable man in there. I can¡¯t think of what else he would care about besides himself. But as for his personal interests¡­it just so happens to be something I don¡¯t feel like giving to him.¡±


    ¡°About ninety-percent of the Supreme Council consists of such people. Including¡­¡± Zhong Yan laughed self-deprecatingly. Someone else was around, so he did not complete his sentence. ¡°Let me try. Everyone has their weaknesses, and maybe I may know his.¡±


    The door to the interrogation room was opened once more. Qu Yongyi thought that Adrian had returned. He had been suffering a lot these days so it took some effort to raise his head, and he could only powerlessly say, ¡°Have you changed your mind, Commander Yate?¡±


    The person who entered did not answer him. From the corner of his vision, he was able to see a set of leather shoes and suit pants instead of the military boots from earlier. He couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked and raised his head.


    The young councilor who used to sit on the table beside him at work was now sitting on the only chair in the interrogation room. When he saw him look over, he put on a genial smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve just gone through a surgery a few days ago. My husband won¡¯t allow me to stand for long.¡±


    As a councilor that did not need to rely on his face to find work, he really did look too good, especially when he smiled. It felt like a spring breeze had come to melt the winter ice, and it was a very pleasing sight.


    But Qu Yongyi wasn¡¯t in the mood to appreciate that pretty face right now. He could only feel a chill climb up his spine. This was exactly how it was a few days ago. Zhong Yan suddenly broke into the manor and disrupted all his plans. And going back further¡­Zhong Yan had clearly entered the Supreme Council after him, but he quickly reached the same position as him. For two years, he and Zhong Yan were both high-ranking councilors. He sat next to Zhong Yan every day, and he felt like it was torture. It was as if this young man was born a politician. He was always calm and stable, and he got along well with everyone. Very soon, when he himself was hopeless in securing a promotion, this young man had instead been taken note of by Old Yate and was pushed up by him to become his puppet as a representative member.


    That¡¯s right¡­Old Yate¡­Commander Yate¡­They¡¯re married now, and they seem to be in a good relationship¡­


    ¡°You¡­¡± Qu Yongyi suddenly realized something amazing. ¡°Have you and the Yate family been colluding this whole time? No wonder! I was thinking why it was always you. Turns out Old Yate had known long ago you were going to become part of his family!¡±


    Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to know what¡¯s going on inside. After all, you won¡¯t be alive for long. I really don¡¯t want to talk too much nonsense with a dying man, but seeing as you¡¯re the first person to congratulate me on my marriage¡­If you¡¯re willing to provide us the evidence we want, I can personally come to an agreement with you. I will hire someone to take care of your father in his old age.¡±


    The muscles on Qu Yongyi¡¯s bloodied face suddenly twitched. He glared at Zhong Yan in disbelief, only to hear him continue, ¡°Did you not understand me? Then let me be straight with you. If you don¡¯t tell us what we want to know, you¡¯ll still die, but you won¡¯t be going alone. My husband is a benevolent man, he would not do such a thing. However,¡± Zhong Yan raised his cold eyes to him. ¡°I will.¡±

 Chapter 62 - Now I Do

    ¡°You¡­¡± Qu Yongyi was furious. He had never been so afraid, even after bearing with all the physical torture he went through these past few days. That was because he realized that Adrian Yate, the man who killed all the hired steel back in that manor, was not actually a truly scary person. Even though there was blood on his hands, he had never killed an innocent person. In the files Pearson passed to him, Adrian was described as a humane person who never went past the limits of morality.


    But Zhong Yan was not. He was a person who did not believe in moral obligations. For the sake of his own goals, he would not hesitate even if it meant sacrificing an innocent person to do so.


    ¡°Think over this carefully. And if your father is not a good enough of a bargaining chip¡­Do you want to know where your children are right now?¡± said Zhong Yan nonchalantly.


    Qu Yongyi spat out a mouthful of blood and snarled furiously at him. ¡°Are you even human? They¡¯re still younger than ten years old!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®them?¡¯ You only have one son, and he¡¯s already fourteen.¡± Zhong Yan smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to try to fool me. You think I¡¯m just making this up to scare you? Do you want me to order someone to send a finger over for you to verify?¡±


    Only then did Qu Yongyi believe that he wasn¡¯t just messing around. In a hoarse voice, he asked, ¡°What is the difference between you and Pearson if you do this?!¡±


    ÕâÊÇËûµÚÒ»´ÎÖ÷¶¯Ìáµ½ÅàÉ­£¬ÖÓêÌÒþ±ÎµØ̧ÆðÍ·¿´ÁËÒ»ÑÛÉóѶÊÒµÄÌ컨°åÒ»½Ç£¬Ëû¸Õ½øÞͿ´µ½ÁË£¬ÄÇÀïÓÐÒ»¸öαװ³ÉµõµÆµÄ¼à¿ØÉãÏñÍ·¡£Ëû̧ÊÖÍÐÆðÏ°ͣ¬ÑÚÊιý×Ô¼ºÌ§Í·µÄ¶¯×÷£¬ÇáÉùЦµÀ£º¡°Ë­¸æËßÄãÎÒºÍËûÓÐÇø±ð£¿Èç¹û²»ÊÇËûÏ붯²»¸Ã¶¯µÄÈË£¬ÏÖÔÚÎÒ¿ÉÄÜÒѾ­°ï×ÅËûµÇ¶¥ÁË¡£¡±


    This was the first time he mentioned Pearson himself. Zhong Yan raised his head covertly to look at the corner of the ceiling of the interrogation room. He had seen it as soon as he entered. There was a surveillance camera there designed as a hanging light. He raised his hand to cover his jaw to conceal his movements and chuckled. ¡°And who told you I was any different from him? If he hadn¡¯t wanted to touch someone he wasn¡¯t supposed to, I might have helped him all the way up to the peak by now.¡±


    Qu Yongyi was stunned for a moment by the gravity of this piece of information, but he had not been in the Supreme Council for these many years for nothing. If that didn¡¯t work, he had to try another way. ¡°Does your husband agree to you doing something as inhumane as kidnapping a child?¡±


    ¡°And how would he know of it? It¡¯s not like there are any¡­¡± Zhong Yan took another concealed glance at the hanging light on the ceiling, ¡°surveillance in here. I will come again tomorrow. Before that, I want to hear that you¡¯ve provided them evidence against Pearson. Otherwise, I will invite you to join me in watching a rather less¡­pleasant live broadcast. This conversation was between you and me. As for the reasons you said earlier, I will not tell a single thing to the Navi Military Command¡¯s people. You can tell them you finally saw the bigger picture. You can use that to ask for a better way to die.¡±


    After saying that, Zhong Yan turned around and was just about to leave when he heard Qu Yongyi ask from behind him, ¡°How would I know that you would keep your promise of not touching my family after I die?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to overthink it. Do you know how much manpower and resources are required to cover up evidence in our modern Federation? What point would there be if I chase down your family and kill them after you¡¯re already dead? What would I get out of that?¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I¡¯m very poor, I can¡¯t even afford a divorce. I won¡¯t spend my money on such useless trifles, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    After Zhong Yan left the interrogation room, the officer in charge was no longer outside. Adrian was sitting alone in front of the surveillance screen, waiting for him. When he saw him come out, he stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±


    He looked normal. Zhong Yan had also responded calmly, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Adrian reached out his left hand. Zhong Yan was briefly startled, but then he held it with his own right hand.


    The officer in charge of the incident heard the news and came over to send the commander off, only to see Adrian who was dressed in his military uniform holding hands with the primly suited Zhong Yan. One looked sharp, while the other looked icy. Their appearances contrasted each other, yet they also seemed to meld together when their hands intertwined. Adrian gave a light nod to the officer and waved him away, signaling that he did not need to be sent off.


    Due to the angle in which they stood, the officer had only now seen the silver ring on Zhong Yan¡¯s left ring finger. Wasn¡¯t this the hot topic in the virtual community today? That was the same ring design as the one Adrian wore during the press conference! The shape did look a bit strange, but since both of them were wearing them, they really must be wedding rings¡­right?


    The planet where this holding center was at was a close neighbor to Navi Star, and it took even less time to reach here than for Adrian to drive a land vehicle to headquarters.


    ¡­¡­


    The two held hands as they walked to the carpark. It was already getting late, and the night breeze was blowing. Adrian suddenly stopped and let go of Zhong Yan¡¯s hand.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s heart constricted, and he was just about to say something when Adrian took off his military blazer and covered it over his suit.


    ¡°No need, I¡¯m not cold. We¡¯re almost at the ship.¡± Zhong Yan looked at Adrian who was only wearing a thin shirt, and immediately wanted to take the blazer off and return it to him, but Adrian stopped him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s your first time wearing it. You¡¯ll get used to it, don¡¯t be shy.¡± As he said that, Adrian helped him do up the topmost button of the blazer. ¡°This planet is cold at night and your wound still hasn¡¯t recovered yet. It won¡¯t be good if you get sick by the time we¡¯re home.¡±


    Just like the first day when Zhong Yan came to Navi, he was wearing Adrian¡¯s military blazer. But unlike back then, this jacket carried Adrian¡¯s warmth with it, wrapping him up in its warmth in the night.


    Zhong Yan stroked the blazer over him cherishingly. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, ¡°Are you not going to ask me anything?¡±


    ¡°About what you said in the interrogation room?¡± Adrian put his arms around his shoulder and continued walking. ¡°I figured it shouldn¡¯t be a big deal, so I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to ask. You didn¡¯t really kidnap his fourteen-year-old son, did you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t actually plan to, do you?¡±


    Zhong Yan paused for a second, and told Adrian, ¡°His son is in Pearson¡¯s hands. The Capital had already received the news when you were still dismantling ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ monitoring devices in Lebor. Just earlier today, Pearson sent someone to take away Qu Yongyi¡¯s son from school. Indeed, I had no plans to grab him from Pearson from all the way across the Federation.¡±


    ¡°And what if Pearson didn¡¯t take his kid away?¡± Adrian asked.


    Zhong Yan seemed to have expected that question. He shook his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have done so either in that case. I know you wouldn¡¯t accept it. I¡¯m scared you¡¯d divorce me.¡±


    Adrian was amused and nearly wanted to laugh, but he could hear that Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t kidding around. He was seriously considering this question before he made his decision. *Would I divorce him?* When Adrian thought about this, he couldn¡¯t laugh anymore. Earnestly, he professed, ¡°I won¡¯t divorce you. You¡¯ve been worried since we came out today. What are you scared of? You said you¡¯d never do anything to disappoint me, and you even said you¡¯d never lie to me. I trust you in all of that.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked up at him, and perhaps the starry sky was reflecting off of his eyes, but they looked like they were sparkling.


    ¡°What¡¯s more, you make it sound easy, but how can we even afford a divorce? You were already complaining about the price when we bought a few pieces of clothing. What, don¡¯t tell me you want to sell off that rabbit at home too?¡± Adrian deliberately cracked a joke to lighten the atmosphere.


    Zhong Yan nudged him lightly with his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m being serious here. Today was just an act, I don¡¯t have any evidence to show him, so it¡¯s not as believable, but I¡¯ve already tried my best. I can only bet on whether he will believe me or not. If even this fails, he definitely won¡¯t speak. This man can¡¯t be left alive any longer. Pearson has already taken action, if he doesn¡¯t hear of Qu Yongyi¡¯s death soon, he may think of doing something.¡±


    ¡°I know. I never expected him to say anything to begin with, but I¡¯ll take anything he¡¯ll throw at us.¡±


    ¡°Based on the results of the latest round table meeting report I received today, the Supreme Council has decided to characterize this as an attack planned by Qu Yongyi alone.¡± Zhong Yan sighed in dissatisfaction. ¡°If he¡¯s unwilling to bring up Pearson no matter what, the costs of pushing the matter to Pearson will be too great. I¡¯m afraid that even if we sacrifice half of the specimen store in the Capital, we still wouldn¡¯t be able to pull him down a peg.¡±


    ¡°What are you worried about?¡± The ¡°Honor Decree¡¯s¡± trial operation will be announced soon. We have nothing but opportunities.¡± Adrian tightened his grip around Zhong Yan¡¯s arm and comforted him.


    Zhong Yan did not speak, but he knew that Pearson was completely prepared this time. If he didn¡¯t make a sacrifice and expose his cards, it¡¯ll be difficult to get any conclusive evidence to pin any crimes against him. It¡¯s still better to wait for an opportunity. But¡­he still didn¡¯t feel good about this. Adrian nearly fell into his trap this time. He couldn¡¯t stand knowing that the culprit was doing completely fine in the Capital.


    It was already late in the night when the two returned home. Zhong Yan had eaten his dinner on the spaceship on the way home from the holding center. They actually brought dinner for two onto the ship, but Adrian had to drive, so he never had the chance to eat. As soon as they arrived, Zhong Yan quickly hurried to the kitchen, but Adrian grabbed him from behind and picked him up.


    ¡°How many times have I told you? Don¡¯t walk so fast. Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡±


    Zhong Yan knew he was hungry, so he anxiously said, ¡°It¡¯s not that painful anymore. Let me down. I¡¯m going to make you some food.¡±


    ¡°Nope, you¡¯ve already been standing way past your limits today.¡± Adrian set him down on the wheelchair and wheeled him all the way to the bathroom in the master bedroom. ¡°I¡¯ll just heat up my dinner myself. You should take a shower first, then wait for me in bed like a good boy.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Zhong Yan responded reluctantly. ¡°Is Doctor Wei coming tomorrow for a check-up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be off work earlier tomorrow and I¡¯ll bring him with me.¡±


    ¡°I can head over too. It¡¯s a bit rude if we make him go back himself so late.¡±


    ¡°Just stay at home, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. I¡¯ll drive him home myself if the check-up ends up finishing late.¡± As he said that, Adrian suddenly realized he was a married man now, and a homosexual to boot. It didn¡¯t seem very proper for him to drive another single man around the same age as him all the way home, and immediately turned to ask permission from his spouse, ¡°Do you think that¡¯s okay?¡±


    Zhong Yan smiled and gave him a light push. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that only be proper of you? Don¡¯t just stay here and joke around. You must be hungry. Quickly go and eat.¡±


    And so, Adrian left to go eat dinner. After Zhong Yan was done washing up, he returned to the room and saw the soft terry onesie they had hurriedly thrown aside on the chair just before leaving.


    Zhong Yan picked up the clothes with a complicated mood. He tugged at the long rabbit ears at the top of the hood. Adrian seemed like he was really looking forward to this¡­


    Adrian had always been a fast eater. He quickly dealt with his late dinner and he was just putting the dishes and cutlery into the dishwasher when he saw something white at the corner of his eyes coming out from the bedroom, stopping hesitantly outside of the door.


    He was just thinking about the meeting they were going to have tomorrow at headquarters so he didn¡¯t put too much focus on it. He was wondering absent-mindedly in his heart, how had the rabbit escaped?


    That¡¯s not right! After a few seconds, Adrian finally realized that they didn¡¯t have a rabbit this size at home!

 Chapter 63 - Carnivore

    Adrian was so shocked his hands shook, and the bowl fell straight from his hands. But fortunately, his ability to react was extraordinary. He bent down at superhuman speed and caught the bowl when it was just centimeters away from the ground, successfully avoiding the tragedy of breaking one of his and Zhong Yan¡¯s couple bowls just two days after buying them.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Adrian was just about to tell him to stop standing and to go lay down in the room. But the instant he saw Zhong Yan after turning around, he suddenly forgot what he wanted to say.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s skin was very fair, to the point where not much contrast could be found even against the snow-white pajamas he wore. He was so covered in white that his pink lips, black eyes, and hair were very eye-catching. He was not wearing the hood, so the pair of big and long rabbit ears on the hat were hanging down. At this moment, he was standing right at the door, and Adrian didn¡¯t know why, but he was suddenly reminded of that day in the backyard where that palm-sized rabbit was poking its head outside of the door to the miniature rabbit¡¯s nest, looking around.


    Zhong Yan was standing while supporting himself on the door frame timidly. Clearly, it was way too embarrassing for a man like him who wore a suit to work every day to wear a loose children¡¯s onesie. He was tugging uneasily at the soft and fluffy clothes on him. Children have delicate skin, so the fabric of the pajamas was particularly soft. When he saw Adrian staying silent, he felt more and more embarrassed and nervous. Even his voice was shaky. ¡°Is it weird? As expected, for an adult to dress like this is too¡­*that*. I should go change.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Adrian quickly walked to him in large strides. ¡°Why change? You just had surgery, this fabric is soft enough, so don¡¯t change.¡±


    Even though he was telling him not to change cause of how soft the fabric was, his hands could not wait any longer to pull up the hood at Zhong Yan¡¯s back. After pulling the hood over him, Zhong Yan became a lop-eared rabbit. Adrian couldn¡¯t resist giving a slight tug on the rabbit ears at the side. Zhong Yan shrunk away, and couldn¡¯t help complaining, ¡°Why are you pulling on my ears?¡±


    ¡°You just look so cute I couldn¡¯t help but bully you,¡± Adrian answered. The rabbit ears were made of even thicker terry material and it felt nice, so he couldn¡¯t help himself from pulling at it.


    Under normal circumstances, Adrian was a man who sympathized with the weak. Just like when he first met Zhong Yan. He knew that his year¡¯s top-scorer was an orphan. He was so thin, but he had to bring a big box to school all by himself. Not long after living together with him, he heard him vaguely speak about his less than perfect childhood. At that time, he was thinking wishfully about how his roommate who had come from a small planet he had never heard of was a pure little white rabbit that was being bullied. He did not hesitate at all to bring him under his wing and would bring him along for everything.


    Even though their professions were worlds apart, and they practically shared no courses, they still spent much of their time together. During their first year, their classes weren¡¯t far away from each other, so they would even meet each other between classes to chat for a bit. It wasn¡¯t until Zhong Yan slowly rose up in school, became the backbone of the student council, and even successfully took over unprecedentedly as the student council president in his second year that Adrian gradually realized that this person was not the little rabbit he thought he was.


    But Zhong Yan in the dorms was different from him in the outside world. Only when the two of them were alone was Zhong Yan¡¯s temper so soft, and he always went out of his way to accommodate him in every possible way. There was also no need to mention that Adrian had to look at his giant space rabbit bed sheets every day. In his subconscious, he could not get rid of the impression he had that Zhong Yan was ¡°weak and needed his protection¡±.


    When Zhong Yan first revealed to him his ambitions that he kept deep within him for the longest time, telling Adrian that he wanted to obtain the highest position. Adrian could clearly see the sharp light in his eyes, and that ferocious desire like that of a carnivore. Even if he could not agree with Zhong Yan¡¯s point of view, he still had to admit that at that moment he knew, as clear as anyone, that this was not a man that required anyone¡¯s protection. He was a man who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and an opponent strong enough to rival himself.


    Now, with those pair of long ears, and in a pure-white children¡¯s onesie, Zhong Yan once again looked as if he could be bullied by anyone¡ªthat anyone being Adrian¡ªbut for some reason, Adrian did not feel any pity this time. Instead, he could feel his breath speeding up, and the sinister part of him deep inside his bones was being aroused.


    Rabbits should have red eyes.


    ¡°Stop playing around.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s rabbit ears were being played with. He slapped away Adrian¡¯s hand that was constantly playing with his rabbit ears unhappily. ¡°I¡¯m going to take it off.¡±


    He had just turned around to head back inside the room, but Adrian followed him in and shut the door behind him before picking him up like a bride.


    Zhong Yan reflexively held onto his neck. Adrian was still wary of his wounds so he didn¡¯t dare to throw him on the bed, and instead held him like a fragile object, setting him down softly on the bed. Zhong Yan was trapped in the soft white material that looked as clean and pure as a newborn baby. Adrian grabbed the bed sheets with both his hands and trapped Zhong Yan under him, but he didn¡¯t dare to press down on him, only looking over his pale skin and red lips again and again.


    Zhong Yan felt extremely ashamed because Adrian was still in his neat and stately military uniform, while he himself was dressed like that. He reached out to push him. ¡°Wait, you should change first before¡­before¡­¡±


    ¡°Before what?¡± Adrian asked in a whisper, but he could no longer hear much of what Zhong Yan was saying. This was the first time in his life that he felt that a soft, weak, fluffy little animal like a rabbit could be so cute. Take Zhong Yan for example. He had completely grabbed his attention. He leaned down in fascination, personally taking off the hood he had just pulled over Zhong Yan¡¯s head, and kissed Zhong Yan whose ears were already beginning to redden.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t let me play with your rabbit ears¡­¡± His deep and hoarse voice lightly brushed against Zhong Yan¡¯s ears, ¡°Then it should be fine if I play with these ears, right?¡±


    The blush at Zhong Yan¡¯s ears spread all the way to the corners of his eyes. With the white hood pressed behind his head, the contrast of it accentuated the red color of his blush. Adrian could feel his throat getting parched, and the trousers of his military uniform were beginning to feel a little tight.


    But this wasn¡¯t a good time for indulgence. Zhong Yan¡¯s wound had still yet to recover. Moreover, Zhong Yan¡¯s surgery happened the day after their supposed one-night stand. No matter how careful or restrained he was that day, there would definitely still be traces. He was very convinced Wei Lan had seen it, because Wei Lan had specifically ordered him not to engage in any ¡°intense exercise, including sexual intercourse¡± during the recovery period of the patient.


    Zhong Yan was just beginning to get into it when he realized that Adrian had stopped moving. He shut his eyes to recover from his quickened breathing before turning over, annoyed, to lay down next to Zhong Yan.


    ¡°Let¡¯s¡­do this another time.¡±


    Zhong Yan had also recalled his own condition. It was fine for him to restrain his desires, but he was worried Adrian would feel bad, so he quietly asked after some hesitation. ¡°If you want, I could help you with¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± Adrian quickly cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m scared that I¡¯ll lose my self-control if you say it.¡±


    He got out of bed and didn¡¯t even turn back to look at Zhong Yan¡¯s face for fear that he would change his mind. While walking away, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything to me, talk to me after I¡¯ve had my shower.¡±


    Zhong Yan sat up and pulled at the corner of Adrian¡¯s clothes. Adrian thought he was going to stop him, and at that moment, he had already made excuses for himself. If he was careful and went slowly, they could actually give it a try¡­


    ¡°Go shower upstairs,¡± Zhong Yan said.


    This was completely different from what Adrian expected. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t understand, and asked in confusion, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I want to use this bathroom.¡± As he said that, Zhong Yan got up from bed.


    Adrian watched as he tidied up his fur, ah no, his pajamas, and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just finish¡­washing¡­¡± After speaking halfway, he suddenly realized. Zhong Yan¡¯s reason for going to the bathroom was the same as his. Thus, he quickly stopped his words. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, *oh*?¡± Zhong Yan who was wearing the rabbit onesie with his eyes red went straight into the bathroom of the master bedroom and shut the door in front of him.


    Adrian subconsciously took a step towards the bathroom. As if he could predict his movements, Zhong Yan knocked on the door from inside and said, ¡°Quickly go and wash up, you still have to wake up early tomorrow to wash the rabbit.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Adrian responded, and headed upstairs for his DIY session.


    Adrian spent much more time in the bathroom compared to usual. By the time he returned to the room, Zhong Yan had already shriveled inside the quilt to look at his terminal.


    ¡°I just received some news from that side when I was taking a shower,¡± Adrian quickly told Zhong Yan, ¡°Qu Yongyi has provided part of the evidence.¡±


    Zhong Yan sat up immediately. ¡°Really? Where is it?¡±


    ¡°God, can¡¯t you slow down a little?¡± Worried, Adrian rushed straight like an arrow to his side to hold him. ¡°Does it not hurt for you to move so roughly?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. But forget that, where is it?¡± Zhong Yan asked eagerly, ¡°How much evidence did he give?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t finished looking at it myself. We can look at it together.¡± As he said that, Adrian enlarged his virtual screen and climbed into the blankets. Since he was worried about hurting Zhong Yan, they had been sleeping separately these days.


    Zhong Yan moved over to learn on him. He was still wearing the rabbit pajamas, and the soft fur brushed past Adrian¡¯s arm. But he was no longer restless like before. Both of them were concentrated on the records in Adrian¡¯s terminal.


    After a few minutes, Zhong Yan muttered, ¡°This is enough. But I suspect this isn¡¯t all of the evidence, this is just all he can give. Pearson wouldn¡¯t let him keep something as straightforward as the transaction records anyway. He knows he won¡¯t be able to escape, so between us and Pearson, he put his bet on us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send it over to you,¡± Adrian said. ¡°Are you going to adjust the arrangements with your team?¡±


    Zhong Yan responded with his fighting spirit ignited, ¡°Of course!¡±


    Pearson was a thorn in his sides. Ever since finding out that he had murderous intentions towards Adrian, he had always wanted to get rid of him. Not to mention the fact that Pearson had nearly succeeded, the old grudges were now mixed in with the new. Zhong Yan immediately contacted both Intron and Old Yate, determined to launch his offensive.


    Adrian responded to his own subordinates and looked up to see Zhong Yan working seriously in the childish rabbit outfit, and couldn¡¯t help himself from breaking out in laughter.


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Zhong Yan took a moment to shoot a look at him, and his eyes were filled with murder.


    A murderous little rabbit.


    It was even funnier now.


    Adrian quickly reminded himself of the gravity of the current matter at hand and was barely able to control his own facial expression.


    The people Zhong Yan had urgently contacted tonight would never expect that the signal was being given by someone dressed in a rabbit costume, because all of them had received tasks that called for bloodshed.

 Chapter 64 - Question

    After they laid down and turned off the lights, Zhong Yan whispered in the dark, ¡°This is great, I was just thinking, you have to go to headquarters tomorrow, and I have to go to the holding center by myself during the day, then I don¡¯t have to go out anymore the day after that. Working remotely is great, I don¡¯t have to go outside at all. Usually, I would have to get up at least an hour and a half in advance, but now I just needed to change ten minutes before I have to be present. If it was just a voice conference, I don¡¯t even need to change my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­you¡¯re right,¡± Adrian responded absent-mindedly. But inside, he was just thinking that his days of staying at home would soon come to an end.


    When Zhong Yan recovers completely, the exercise plan he had the medical department design especially for Zhong Yan will begin. Adrian recalled the days when Zhong Yan would be half-dead after running less than a quarter of a mile. He felt a bit complicated, but he still did not tell him that.


    Just let him be ¡°happy¡± for a few more days.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What are you thinking about?¡± Zhong Yan asked. He snuggled over to his side and plastered against him through the blanket.


    ¡°Nothing, just thinking about some plans in a few days.¡± While saying that, Adrian peeled away the blanket and squeezed in with Zhong Yan. ¡°You seem spirited today. Not sleepy?¡±


    The temperature of Adrian¡¯s body was very high. Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t help but lean closer to him. Adrian reached his arm over and scooped him up completely, while Zhong Yan was kept pleasantly in his warm embrace. ¡°I was thinking about things in the Capital, and I couldn¡¯t sleep, but now I¡¯m starting to get sleepy.¡±


    The feeling of the soft fabric against his hand was nice. Adrian had been patting his back to lull him to sleep, but that eventually turned into stroking. Zhong Yan grumbled as he gave his chest a light smack, ¡°What are you doing? I¡¯ve already washed myself twice today, I don¡¯t want to go again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m touching your clothes, not you. Even though I bought these clothes for you, it¡¯s still our common property. What¡¯s wrong with it if I touch it?¡± Adrian argued. His chest was pushed again, and it felt like he was being pawed by a small animal. It didn¡¯t hurt, but Adrian knew how painful it could be if Zhong Yan really clawed him. That time, the marks that were left on his back took two whole days to dissipate. He had no intentions of stopping, but instead of stroking him, he returned to patting him again.


    Zhong Yan had always slept badly, and it was also difficult for him to fall asleep. But being in Adrian¡¯s arms was just as effective as taking sleeping pills. After a few minutes, he sunk into the warm land of dreams.


    But of course, thanks to the heat source underneath his blanket latching onto him tightly, he was woken up by the stuffiness in the middle of the night. But that all comes later.


    ¡­¡­


    After waking up the next day, Adrian had already left to go to work. Zhong Yan had been woken up from his sleep during the night due to the heat and had to wiggle himself out of Adrian¡¯s arms. Even though he tried his best to be as careful as possible, Adrian¡¯s vigilance was too high and he was woken up from the slightest movement. Zhong Yan quickly explained to him in a whisper, and hearing that he was fine, Adrian quickly fell back asleep. But when Zhong Yan turned on his terminal to adjust the temperature of the room, he also looked through the news and couldn¡¯t help himself from contacting several people to arrange a new task. Then, he was completely awake. Only after laying for a while did he finally manage to fall asleep again.


    But this caused him to wake up late. He received Adrian¡¯s call as soon as he got up.


    ¡°Awake?¡± Adrian asked in the call.


    Zhong Yan took his toothbrush out of his mouth and mumbled with a full mouth, ¡°I just woke up. Brushing my teeth.¡±


    ¡°You should quickly eat breakfast after you wash up. I think your food should be delivered by now.¡± Adrian continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t eat now, you won¡¯t be able to stomach your lunch later.¡±


    Zhong Yan spat out the bubbles in his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can just delay my lunch as well.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± Adrian put on a stern act. ¡°You have to eat your meals on schedule. Once you finish, take a picture for me to check.¡±


    Zhong Yan spat out a laugh and teased, ¡°And what if I can¡¯t send you a picture on time?¡±


    ¡°Then your little cake will be gone tonight.¡±


    ¡°No! You promised I¡¯ll have cake from tonight on.¡±


    Adrian laughed. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to look at your performance. Alright, I have to go to the meeting room now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± As if they were still in school, Zhong Yan responded out of habit, ¡°Work hard.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡± Adrian¡¯s voice was gentle. ¡°Quickly go and eat, I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    After having his breakfast on time, he passed up his ¡°homework¡± to Adrian. Zhong Yan felt his own wound and felt that it was no longer painful, so he got up from his wheelchair and strolled out to the backyard to see the rabbits.


    The giant space rabbit was not in its own nest and was instead laying down on the grass nearby, sunbathing. Zhong Yan saw the hose that had been brought out from the house. This was probably what Adrian used to wash the rabbit this morning, and he must not have had the time to put it away so he just tossed it there. Zhong Yan went over to touch the rabbit¡¯s fur. It was still a little wet.


    Zhong Yan turned on his terminal to see. He had finished his duties in the middle of the night, and due to the time difference, he had no work at this moment since it was the middle of the night in the Capital. Zhong Yan went back inside to bring out a hairdryer. While passing through the rabbit¡¯s nest, he noticed the small white rabbit next to it and brought it with him as well. When he reached the giant space rabbit and was just about to start work, he suddenly realized there were no pockets in the rabbit onesie for him to hold the rabbit.


    Holding the rabbit, he looked around him. It was grass all around him, but there was a spot that was particularly deep. When the giant space rabbit laid down, it did not feel it much, but the small white rabbit kit would disappear if he put it down there. He thought about it and stuffed the rabbit into his hood instead. Only then did he begin blow drying the giant space rabbit.


    The rabbit was too big, and it was practically like a tiny mountain made of fur, while Zhong Yan was using a regular hair dryer meant for humans. He began drying it from the base of the mountain. He had turned on his terminal and brought the screen to his eyes so he could watch the news while he blew the rabbit dry. When he reached the rabbit¡¯s chest, the giant space rabbit finally discovered a human in front of it dressed in all white. It shoved the tip of its fluffy nose in front of Zhong Yan curiously. Most of Adrian¡¯s clothes were black in color, so he always complained about the rabbit getting its fur all over him. Zhong Yan had also noticed now that this lop-eared giant rabbit sheds a lot, but the color of his fur today¡­no, the color of his pajamas were the exact same as the rabbit, so it was hard to tell.


    When Adrian went to buy this rabbit, he didn¡¯t know if there were manuals or whatnot, nor did he know how quickly a rabbit¡¯s fur turns over. It was shedding so much, was it growing out new fur? When he put Adrian¡¯s clothes into the washing machine the day before yesterday, Zhong Yan did see a lot of long, soft white hair poking out of his clothes.


    Then, in the few seconds it took for him to think about Adrian¡¯s clothes, Zhong Yan suddenly smelled something burning. He quickly came back to his senses, but it was too late. A cluster of scorched hair appeared on the dense fluffy chest of the rabbit. Fortunately, the giant space rabbit was large enough and had enough fur, so even the rabbit did not notice a clump of its hair being fried. After all, its chest hair was in its blind spot.


    Zhong Yan ¡°¡­¡±


    Adrian was busy the whole day without any time for rest. The Lebor System was now under the Navi Military Command¡¯s control. ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring system was gradually destroyed, and the AI¡¯s misjudgment of the star system¡¯s Council Head caused him to switch camps, bringing the entire star system with it¡­The entire Federation was in an uproar.


    In the Round Table, the eleven Representative Members have also been fighting about it for the whole day. If they did not admit that they misjudged him, then the Lebor system would actually accept entering Navi¡¯s jurisdiction, and ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring systems would be dismantled. This was undoubtedly a public provocation. The Capital had to send out their troops, but from the final image data from Lebor¡¯s monitoring system, they were able to analyze that the Navi military army was much stronger than they feared. And the more worrying part was, they did not actually know how many troops Navi had within their own system that had not been brought out of its borders. If like last time, the Capital admitted that it made a misjudgment¡­


    In just two years, there had been two cases of misjudgments, and it was even all such sensitive events. The last time, it was only a girl who was rather popular in the virtual community, but they had still received massive criticisms that they had never once seen during the past half-century. But this time, it was three high-ranking councilors¡­It is not known whether ¡°Butterfly¡± and the Capital that was covered under its wings would completely lose the trust of the public because of this incident.


    The eleven people who held 2 differing opinions were embroiled in an unending debate. The only one not present was Zhong Yan who was currently on the other side of the Federation, but there was more than one person out of the eleven who held his script.


    Adrian didn¡¯t have time to look at his private messages until he went to the medical department to pick up Wei Lan in the afternoon. The last message he received from Zhong Yan was the photo of his empty lunch bowl, but there was another image earlier on in his history. Adrian opened it up to see and saw a cluster of brown in the middle of a snow-white image. At first, he didn¡¯t realize what it was until he saw another picture taken from afar with the rabbit¡¯s head in the shot. Only then did he realize that white stuff was the rabbit¡¯s chest. The words attached by Zhong Yan read: I was blow-drying the rabbit but accidentally burnt it. Do you know what the shedding period for this rabbit is?


    Adrian laughed at the two images for three whole minutes before replying, ¡°I¡¯ll ask later. I¡¯m going to pick up Wei Lan now. Remember to change.¡±


    Zhong Yan was just in a call with Intron, so when he received the message, he just assumed that Adrian meant he was going to ask the Giant Space Rabbit Research Institute he had purchased the rabbit from, so he asked without much care, ¡°Okay, remember to show them the photo as well, and ask whether this is fine or not.¡±


    Huh? Show them the photo as well? It was more than a year ago since Adrian had last posted an update to his personal homepage. Last year, the posting interface of the personal homepage was changed once, so for a moment, he actually couldn¡¯t figure out where to add the image. The last post Adrian made was about the fact that the space bandits had been dealt with to the roots, and promoted that the Navi System was now safe and stable. At first glance, you could tell it was an official post. In more than a year, Adrian¡¯s supporters and haters had commented beneath that post until the numbers reached a terrifying height, especially with the recent major events these past two months that Adrian played the leading role in. In just a short month or so, the comments had nearly doubled.


    After a few seconds, Adrian found the button to add images. After more than a year, he updated his personal homepage once more.


    Adrian Yate(Verified Position: Supreme Commander of Navi Military Command): A question for everyone, when do giant space rabbit kits molt? I accidentally burnt some of its fur, will this cause any problems? Picture below.

 Chapter 65 - How to Treat Your Guests

    ¡°Lebor¡¯s being turned upside down and you¡¯re roasting rabbits for fun?¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, a lop-eared giant space rabbit!!! So cute! Awww, it¡¯s cute even if its fur is burnt!¡±


    ¡°Yate doesn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy who would like rabbits at all. I seem to recall another rather famous person. The whole world knows he loves giant space rabbits¡­¡±


    ¡°I know! The Supreme Commander is trying to say that he wants to roast the giant space rabbit for dinner. It¡¯s provocation for Zhong Yan! Let me explain. He wants to know when the rabbit sheds, meaning he wants to take off its fur, and the burnt fur signifies he wants to roast it and eat it. This suggests that he is on bad terms with Zhong Yan. Didn¡¯t someone post about it a long time ago? They had most likely gotten married because they got attacked together by chance and didn¡¯t get to pay the fines. Seems like their marriage won¡¯t last for long.¡±


    ¡°Stop fantasizing, the two of them had already admitted they got married because they didn¡¯t have money.¡±


    ¡°People really believe they don¡¯t have money? I¡¯m done. One¡¯s a representative councilor, the other¡¯s the big boss of a star system. They can¡¯t afford a divorce? Who are you trying to kid? To begin with, Zhong Yan has the Yate family supporting him. I knew from the very beginning this couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence. After all, everyone in the Federation knows that ¡®Butterfly¡¯ doesn¡¯t play by the rules anymore.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just try to represent the entire Federation. How could we have our stable lives without ¡®Butterfly¡¯? Yate will face retribution if he encourages young people to rebel!¡±


    ¡°Why is that damn moth¡¯s fans on the Commander¡¯s homepage? Why don¡¯t you let me explain to you what the case was with the two misjudgments? I¡¯m just worried you¡¯ll also be ¡®misjudged¡¯ if you accidentally did something the Capital doesn¡¯t like next time.¡±


    ¡°This is his revenge. Do you still remember the Supreme Institution¡¯s celebration two months ago? Zhong Yan mouthed something to Yate and a great god managed to decipher the word as ¡®top¡¯. He¡¯s trying to pick a fight with Yate. What he means is that he wants to be on top after they marry, and now that they¡¯re married, Yate is posting this picture as revenge to say he wants to eat roasted giant space rabbit.¡±


    ¡°Good one! The Commander is mighty!¡±


    ¡°Are you all crazy? You think he¡¯s a celebrity just cause he¡¯s a little good-looking? Eating giant space rabbits is illegal. Don¡¯t you know about the giant space rabbit anti-poaching laws? Are you all ignorant of the law?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the Commander is just ¡®a little¡¯ good-looking¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a giant space rabbit? Looks pretty small though? Nobody can see that if you threw it up in space!¡±


    ¡°Giant space rabbits don¡¯t live to be looked at by you, thank you. This variety is smaller than the usual ones.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t say anything about that, okay? How could there be such extreme giant space rabbit fans everywhere? Aren¡¯t they just rabbits that have been mutated by radiation? You lot are just like a cult.¡±


    ¡°Protecting giant space rabbits has great scientific significance in both the fields of biology and physics. If you¡¯re free, read up more on science topics. Spend less time talking smack at people in the virtual community.¡±


    ¡°Replying to the comment above, Yate forcefully demolished the monitoring system in the Lebor System. He just ignored the constitution and you think he cares about your stupid poaching laws?¡±


    ¡°The Federation is in turmoil, chaos is coming. Stop talking about the law and whatnot and make sure you have food stored up instead.¡±


    ¡°??? Can¡¯t he just ask about when rabbits shed? What are they talking about in the comments, I don¡¯t understand?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    By the time Zhong Yan ended his meeting with Intron, changed his clothes, and opened his terminal to realize that something was wrong, things had already gone into an uncontrollable direction.


    Since his rise in reputation after achieving top scores in middle school, Zhong Yan who had to watch every word he spoke in public looked at the two pictures he took and felt like his feet were swaying.


    The entire comment section was a giant mess. There were some who were trying to analyze the deeper meanings of Adrian¡¯s words, those who were criticizing Adrian for blatantly violating the hunting prohibition laws, people arguing about the pros and cons of AI, and also those who were fangirling over the rabbit. Zhong Yan felt like he should tell his men to get things under control, but he actually could not figure out where to start for a moment.


    There was even an advertisement in the hot comments section. You could tell with one look that they had gotten there by spending money on certain tools. But advertisements themselves weren¡¯t scary, it was the content that was.


    ¡°Agriste Jewelry Design, personal brand of the top jewelry designer graduate of the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution¡¯s Academy of Fine Arts. The choice of the most famous couple in the Federation, Adrian Yate and Zhong Yan! The latest models are on the shelves, personalized customization, an ace experience! Please click here for more details¡­¡±


    No, it was Adrian¡¯s choice, not his!


    But just as Zhong Yan was holding his forehead and reading this advert with difficulty, praying that everyone could just treat his fellow alumnus as a swindler here to ride the waves, an even more terrifying thing happened. Adrian was clearly looking at the same comment as he was, and he gave that comment a like.


    Zhong Yan ¡°¡­¡± He won¡¯t be able to get out of this one¡­


    Adrian was driving when he suddenly received a call. He was going to hang it up, but he never would have expected that it was Zhong Yan calling him when he looked at the screen.


    When he was still in school, the campus was too far away from his dorm so he rented a scooter from the school to get around every day. Zhong Yan would never call him when he was on the road, so what happened today? Did something happen at home?


    He stopped his car at the roadside and picked up Zhong Yan¡¯s call. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I just came out from Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Zhong Yan had originally wanted to talk to him about his post directly, but it was so personal. In case Wei Lan was also there, it would be bad for him to throw Adrian¡¯s face in front of an outsider. So, he turned to ask, ¡°Have you picked up the doctor?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not in my car. Fayn was just at the medical department so he said he¡¯ll join us. It¡¯s a good coincidence. He can just send Wei Lan home when he¡¯s done with the check-up.¡±


    ¡°Suster¡¯s coming too?¡± Zhong Yan was stunned and his focus was diverted. ¡°Then I should make dinner. I ordered three portions of dinner earlier, it won¡¯t be enough if he¡¯s coming too.¡±


    Adrian wasn¡¯t perturbed. ¡°Just order another set. You don¡¯t have to work. After your check-up is done, the two of them can just go eat on their own.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already dinner time, how can we not offer any food? That¡¯s not proper. It¡¯s fine, I just finished my work so I¡¯m not busy¡­No, I mean, I didn¡¯t call to talk to you about this!¡± Zhong Yan finally remembered what he called him for. ¡°What¡¯s with that post you made earlier?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Adrian was confused. ¡°I asked you about it. Didn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Zhong Yan simply could not find his tears. ¡°I¡­Forget it, fine. If you wanted to ask, just ask, what¡¯re you uploading pictures for? Have some shame for the rabbit!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too! But weren¡¯t you the one who told me to put the photo in as well? Right, did you see the replies? Someone said it¡¯s fine if the fur outside is burnt.¡±


    ¡°Who cares about that?! I nearly died in a fit of anger when I saw the comments.¡± Zhong Yan grumbled. ¡°Those people were scolding you even though they don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Adrian laughed. ¡°What¡¯s there to be angry about? There are people yelling at me for everything I post.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stand seeing people scold you,¡± Zhong Yan said. ¡°I have a group of professionals here who can steer the public¡¯s opinion¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, sweetheart. If it worries you, I can just delete it. We got the answer we needed anyway.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t. If you delete it that¡¯s going to be news again. I¡¯m going to go make dinner now, I¡¯ll respond later.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°You¡¯re driving, right? I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I stopped my car on the roadside. Just make a simple dinner, don¡¯t tire yourself.¡±


    Zhong Yan gave an affirmative and hung up the call. However, the ingredients he ordered weren¡¯t simple at all.


    Guests were coming, so it¡¯s best to show them proper hospitality.


    When Fayn and Wei Lan entered the door, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at the person who opened the door for a moment.


    Zhong Yan wore a color he had never¡ªat least not as an adult¡ªworn before. It was a striking red. Not everyone could pull off a bright red, especially a man, but Zhong Yan was very fair so the red made him look very lively, and not like his usual cold self. But this was not the reason why the two paid special attention to his top.


    ¡°I was just thinking, seeing Adrian earlier was shocking enough. I had never seen him wear red in all the ten years I¡¯ve known him. Now, I finally realized you actually bought a couple outfit,¡± Fayn laughed.


    You¡¯ve only known him for nine, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s known him for ten! Zhong Yan corrected silently in his heart. But it would be too unsightly for him to say this to a guest. He only smiled and turned to Wei Lan. ¡°Doctor, you can leave your medical kit here first. What do you want to drink? We don¡¯t usually drink anything fancy, but I bought some juice earlier.¡±


    Zhong Yan actually smiled at him and asked if he wanted some juice. Fayn was shocked. It had to be known that in his few meeting Zhong Yan, he would mostly be ignored. If Adrian weren¡¯t around, then he wouldn¡¯t even try to conceal his hostility in the slightest. Adrian hadn¡¯t returned home today, but he still had a friendly attitude


    Zhong Yan led the two of them to the living room for a seat. Fayn drank the juice that Zhong Yan had personally poured for him while seriously thinking about how surgery and marriage can change a person. Wei Lan asked, ¡°We saw the update on the Commander¡¯s homepage while we were in the car. Have you gone to the Giant Space Rabbit Conservation Center to play? It¡¯s best for you not to travel long distances in this period. Overworking yourself is unconducive to your recovery.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­¡± Zhong Yan was just about to explain when the sound of the door opening could be heard. Adrian was back.


    All three people on the sofa stood up. This was a private occasion so neither Fayn nor Wei Lan bowed. They only greeted their Commander. Zhong Yan went over to help him take his jacket off and hung it on the rack.


    ¡°You arrived? Have a seat.¡± Adrian nodded to the two in the living room. He was wearing the same striking red top as Zhong Yan. Fayn had seen him earlier in the headquarters, and he was just wondering why Adrian who had always work black suddenly wore such a bright color today, it looked very awkward. But when he came home and stood next to Zhong Yan, it seemed to look much more harmonic. His usual cold aura had been diluted a lot, and his entire person seemed to have softened.


    ¡°Wow, smells good. You made black pepper steak?¡± Adrian asked. Then, he noticed something strange. ¡°This smells familiar. I thought that shop didn¡¯t do takeaways?¡±


    Zhong Yan didn¡¯t want to say he had bought someone¡¯s recipe just because Adrian praised it in front of outsiders. He tugged at Adrian¡¯s clothes, and Adrian leaned down for him. Zhong Yan whispered in his ear, ¡°I made it. I¡¯ll¡­tell you at night.¡±


    The hosts were talking about their own private matters. Out of courtesy, Fayn moved his gaze away and looked out the window instead. Adrian had a large back yard behind his house. The sun was still up outside, so he could see a gigantic white furball lying there quietly behind the sparse row of trees.


    Fayn rubbed his eyes hard.


    That giant white snowball that was definitely more than 16 feet long was still there.


    ¡°Hey Wei Lan,¡± Fayn¡¯s voice was stiff, ¡°I¡¯ve never raised a rabbit, but do you know how big a palm-sized white rabbit can grow in half a month?¡±

 Chapter 66 - Satisfaction

    Wei Lan did not look out the window, so he replied, ¡°Are you talking about the Commander¡¯s little rabbit? I don¡¯t think it will have grown much.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about that rabbit?¡± Zhong Yan walked over with Adrian. He turned his back to them and showed them the bulge in his hood. ¡°It¡¯s in here.¡±


    None of them actually noticed the bulge in the hood of Zhong Yan¡¯s red hoodie. Turns out there was a little rabbit in there.


    Adrian didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°Why¡¯d you put it in your hood? Are you trying to perform a hat trick?¡±


    ¡°I was too busy cooking earlier so I didn¡¯t have any time to send it back to the yard. You didn¡¯t bring the box back either, so now neither the cleaning robot nor the rabbit has a box to stay in.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯ll get two new boxes tomorrow, one for the cleaning robot and one for the rabbit to use as a home.¡±


    Fayn said, ¡°Hold on, if the rabbit¡¯s in here, then what¡¯s that outside the window? Wait, that¡¯s not the legendary giant space rabbit, right? The one you burnt? Didn¡¯t they say that giant space rabbits are around a hundred feet tall or whatever?¡±


    When Zhong Yan heard his ignorant words, his eyes lit up. In his heart, Adrian exclaimed: Oh no!


    ¡°Dear, let me bring the rabbit back to the backyard.¡± As he said that, Adrian took out the rabbit from Zhong Yan¡¯s hood and quickly left the scene before anyone could say anything.


    Zhong Yan nodded, unbothered, and took a seat on the sofa. Before Adrian walked out the back door, he could hear Zhong Yan¡¯s excited voice coming from the living room. ¡°That¡¯s not true, no giant space rabbit is as big as that. Based on the latest data from last year, the average giant space rabbit is no more than 65 feet in length. There are many varieties within the giant space rabbit species, and their sizes also differ from that. Take for example, the one we have is a lop-eared breed, so¡­¡±


    Even though the backyard was big enough for the giant space rabbit to stroll around in, it still wouldn¡¯t take more than a few minutes to bring the rabbit back to its nest. Adrian loitered around and manually scooped out the loose greens in the pond. Then, he went over to the rabbit¡¯s nest to see if any parts needed maintenance. He even ruffled the burnt hair on the giant space rabbit¡¯s chest when it came over to nudge him before taking a few photos for future laughing purposes.


    And just like that, when he returned to the living room, he heard Zhong Yan going on with, ¡°¡­Later, the research team found that the compositions of cosmic debris in that star system was different, which led to it being frequented by the rabbits. I¡¯ve been to that tourist planet with Adrian before during one of our school holidays. You can really see rabbits floating in the sky from time to time. We saw one that was black. That color is very rare, I even took a picture. Look¡­¡±


    Wei Lan seemed to be really interested. He had always been open to accepting new knowledge, but Fayn looked like he was done with life. Seeing Adrian return for him was like seeing his savior, and he cast a look of pleading to him.


    Adrian looked at the time. Zhong Yan had already begun to talk about the tour, so he estimated that it was just about time. He cleared his throat and shouted, ¡°Xiao Yan, when is dinner going to be ready? I¡¯m getting hungry.¡±


    When Zhong Yan heard that Adrian was hungry, he abandoned his Giant Space Rabbit Science Mini Class and quickly got up to head to the kitchen. ¡°It¡¯s already done. Ade, lay down the dinner cloth. I just washed them today. Doctor, you can sit wherever you like.¡±


    After Adrian laid out the tablecloth, he helped Zhong Yan plate the steaks on the table. Compared to that super well-rated steakhouse they went to, the ones made by Zhong Yan were actually able to match the store¡¯s almost to a T. Fayn was surprised. ¡°Is this for real? Are you really that good at cooking? I used to think Adrian was just making baseless praises in the past.¡±


    Zhong Yan smiled modestly while he took off his apron. Suddenly, he saw a few long white strands of fur poking out from Adrian¡¯s body.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, there¡¯s fur on you. When did this get on you?¡± While pulling the hairs out for him, Zhong Yan said, ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been this morning, right? Did none of your colleagues mention it to you today?¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°Oh no, the rabbit rubbed itself on me when I went out to the backyard earlier.¡±


    Fayn watched how Zhong Yan circled Adrian to help him pull out the rabbit hairs while Adrian seemed to be taking it like it was normal. He didn¡¯t look put off in the slightest, almost as if nothing could ever be more normal than this. He was standing very naturally, allowing Zhong Yan to fuss over his clothes. Fayn couldn¡¯t help but feel the image of Zhong Yan he had in his heart subverting a little.


    In the past, Zhong Yan had already been a notable person since his time in school, but he did not speak much in front of people. If a normal person did not speak often, others would get the impression that this person was introverted. But when it came to someone as dazzling as this, people would find them proud instead. What¡¯s more, Zhong Yan was the Student Council President and even a member of the debate team. From all the speeches and debates he participated, large or small, his performance on the stage was not like that of an introvert¡¯s at all¡ªthough Fayn always felt like he was seeing him through some type of screen every time he watched Zhong Yan¡¯s public speeches. In his opinion, Zhong Yan was indeed proud. Even during dinner parties, he did not speak much, only occasionally saying a few words to Adrian, and he would mostly be speaking directly to his ear so as not to be overheard. Plus, with his not-so-friendly gaze, he gave Fayn a rather gloomy impression.


    In those days, Adrian would boast nonstop about how delicious his cooking was, how nice Zhong Yan had cleaned up the dorm, and he would even talk to Fayn privately, discussing if Zhong Yan liked him because he would wash his clothes for him every day. At that time, none of Adrian¡¯s friends believed him. Most of them figured Adrian was just talking out of his ass, including Fayn.


    Zhong Yan was usually so proud. Even though Adrian would often explain to his circle of friends that Zhong Yan was ¡°thin-skinned¡±, that ¡°that¡¯s just how he is, he¡¯s not looking down on people¡±, and ¡°you¡¯ll know how nice he is once you get to know him¡±. But clearly, anyone who had been in contact with Zhong Yan could clearly feel that this Student Council President was hardly as extroverted and approachable as the Military Academy¡¯s Chief. It would sound more believable if you told them that Adrian was the one cooking for Zhong Yan every day.


    And so, Fayn never understood why Adrian would fall for such a person, but he did not try to bring a curse upon himself by telling his good brother what he thought. After all, just his face alone was enough for him to turn his nose up against the rest of his peers, it wasn¡¯t totally illogical.


    It was only today that he finally realized that Adrian¡¯s descriptions were not mere illusions. They were actually true. Zhong Yan, the one described by the young poets in the school forum as a man who ¡°did not partake in the activities of mortals¡± actually cooked and did the laundry for Adrian in private. He was a considerate man.


    The rabbit was too big so it could cover them with fur with just one nudge, but nobody knew why this rabbit enjoyed doing that so much. Zhong Yan was finally almost done picking the hairs out of his clothes, and he had decided to add a handheld lint roller to his shopping list.


    After placing the glasses on the table, Zhong Yan said, ¡°I bought a bottle of wine as well. Shall I uncork it for everyone?¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°You can¡¯t drink alcohol right now.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you guys can drink it.¡±


    Wei Lan said, ¡°I have a surgery to perform tomorrow morning, so I can¡¯t drink alcohol tonight either.¡±


    ¡°I still have to drive home tonight, so maybe it¡¯s better if we skip it,¡± said Fayn as he took a seat next to Wei Lan. Adrian suddenly had an idea.


    ¡°Doctor Wei¡¯s not drinking, just let him drive. The two of us can drink,¡± said Adrian, expression unchanged.


    Wei Lan was as dense as dense could be. Even if the entire military command knew that the Adjutant was pursuing their Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Medical Officer himself still thinks that the Deputy had really come looking for him all the time to chat because he was grateful for being saved by him, as the man said himself. If he saw anyone making fun of him, he would even make a serious retort. Adrian had once tried to give advice to Fayn, telling him that he had to do everything the other way when it came to Wei Lan. ¡°For others, you have to confess after getting them to like you more, but when it comes to Wei Lan, you have to inform him clearly from the very beginning that you are pursuing him. Otherwise, the only thing you¡¯re improving with him is your friend zone.¡±


    When Fayn was still in his early twenties, he had told Adrian many times that he did not want to marry or date, he had even refused all the marriage proposals that were thrown his way. He felt that freedom was a life lived alone. He couldn¡¯t stand sticking together with someone else. And these opinions continued until Wei Lan rescued him from the battlefield.


    And the worst part was, Wei Lan did not seem like someone who would need love at all. He was even indifferent to regular feelings. He seemed to only be interested in medical knowledge, and the only good news for Fayn was that Wei Lan was born in the Navi System, so his marriage was not the AI¡¯s business. Fayn had pursued him for two years, and as Adrian would describe it, if this was anyone else, they would even have babies by now, but he was still stuck in the stage of running over to him for a quick chat.


    Fayn¡¯s temper was a little unpredictable. After Adrian suffered through the great impact in his twenties and calmed down considerably, Fayn seemed to appear much more lively than Adrian, but his late first love caused him much worry, and he shrunk back with timidity. He knew what he meant, but he just couldn¡¯t find the courage to confess. Adrian felt that a little alcohol under the dim moonlight might be able to give him the courage he needed when Wei Lan sent him home tonight.


    But clearly, Fayn did not understand his implications. He even answered politely, ¡°Still, if it¡¯s just the two of us, we shouldn¡¯t uncork it. You can just leave it for yourselves to drink.¡±


    ¡°Come on, I want to drink it,¡± Adrian professed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about getting back. It¡¯s not like Doctor Wei can¡¯t drive. Xiao Yan, hand me the bottle.¡±


    Zhong Yan handed the bottle of wine to Adrian and, seemingly without much thought, he said, ¡°Small amounts of wine before bedtime can help with sleep. Speaking of which, alcohol does more than just¡­helping with sleep.¡±


    When Fayn heard that, he raised his head up. His eyes went back and forth between Adrian and Zhong Yan¡¯s face. Zhong Yan¡¯s face was blank, but Adrian was looking at him in a meaningful manner.


    In the subtly ambiguous atmosphere, the only one to respond to Zhong Yan was Wei Lan. ¡°Yes, medical alcohol is generally used for disinfection.¡±


    Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°As expected of a doctor.¡±


    He took the opened bottle from Adrian and helped to pour a third of a glass of wine for the guest, Fayn. Fayn gazed at the wine in the glass for a while, and gritting his teeth, he said, ¡°Fine, but just a bit.¡±


    Adrian looked pleased at Zhong Yan who seemed completely unperturbed. He had never mentioned the relationship between these two to Zhong Yan, and Zhong Yan had only just had dinner once with them. Even Fayn did not react to his words earlier, but Zhong Yan knew exactly what he meant. He then took another glance to Wei Lan who had no idea what was happening and actually thought they were discussing the role of alcohol, and he suddenly felt a little smug.


    As expected, my lover satisfies me the most.

 Chapter 67 - Show Off

    Zhong Yan distributed the tableware to everyone. The dining set had all been switched out several days ago, and the four soup plates on the table were clearly two couple sets. Even the spoons came in pairs. When Zhong Yan saw that both his guest had their attention on the tableware, he explained, ¡°We only have couple sets at home. You don¡¯t mind, do you, Doctor?¡±


    Wei Lan responded, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Fayn did not respond. He peered at his and Wei Lan¡¯s dinner sets covertly and felt both secretly happy and guilty. When Adrian saw him remain silent, he taunted him deliberately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t like sharing a couple set with the doctor? You haven¡¯t started eating anyway. I¡¯ll change sets with the doctor. You can use a pair with me.¡±


    ¡°Forget it then.¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Fayn and Zhong Yan spoke at the same time. Zhong Yan quickly realized his own overreaction and cleared his throat. ¡°I mean¡­the soup is getting cold so you should drink it quickly while it¡¯s still hot.¡±


    ¡°Heard that? I¡¯m not the only one disagreeing. I¡¯m a person with morals, I won¡¯t step between a married couple, so give up. I won¡¯t agree to it. It can¡¯t happen between us.¡± When Fayn saw this scene, he was quick to add oil to the fire in joy.


    Wei Lan hesitated for a moment. He knew himself well, and he knew that besides the surgical department, he was not very good in understanding with people. But he was still worried that his friend would ¡°misunderstand¡± Adrian in that way, and that he would anger the couple opposite of them, so he still reminded him, ¡°Adjutant Suster, I don¡¯t think the Commander is interested in you in that way.¡±


    Before Adrian could even say the word ¡°scram¡±, he suddenly heard Wei Lan¡¯s blow and couldn¡¯t stop himself from laughing. Even Zhong Yan could not help but cover his mouth to hide his amusement, but it was still revealed in his eyes. On the other hand, Fayn was looking dazedly at Wei Lan, speechless.


    ¡°Did¡­I say something wrong again?¡± Wei Lan could not understand.


    Fayn couldn¡¯t bear seeing Wei Lan like this the most. He had completely forgotten how he had been defeated through and through by Adrian during one of their arguments that arose from a single sentence Wei Lan said. He glared at the two who were still laughing at the opposite side and quickly encouraged Wei Lan. ¡°No, you¡¯re right, you¡¯re completely right. Like I said, you¡¯ve really improved!¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly stopped his laughter and nudged Adrian with his elbow, telling him to stop laughing. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s start eating. There wasn¡¯t much time so I didn¡¯t prepare a lot of food. I hope everyone can still enjoy themselves.¡±


    The four men raised their glasses and clinked both their juice and their wine, emanating a sound of crisp bells.


    After dinner, Wei Lan went with Zhong Yan to the room with his medical kit in hand. Adrian invited Fayn over. ¡°Want to go out to the backyard to have a look? Sober up a little.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Fayn shook his head and checked himself. ¡°I¡¯m not that drunk.¡±


    ¡°I still think it¡¯s better if we go out for a walk. You¡¯ll feel more sober after getting some air.¡± Then, Adrian added, ¡°The medical officer is my subordinate as well. I have to be responsible for him.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Am I¡­that kind of guy when I¡¯m drunk?¡± Fayn gave him a light slap on the back. Even though he said that he still followed Adrian out to the yard.


    They walked through the sparse rows of trees, over to the wooden house on the open grassland that was just a little taller than a two-story building. Seeing such a large building all of a sudden, Fayn was sobered up a lot. ¡°Damn, the hell is this thing out in your yard?¡±


    ¡°A rabbit nest,¡± Adrian said. ¡°I made it myself. Look closer, over there, there¡¯s a small one right next to it too.¡±


    Fayn was speechless for a moment. Adrian actually raised rabbits at home and even made them nests with his own hands. It felt almost surreal. He could not help but suspect that perhaps he really had drank too much. He massaged his temples. ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind. Marriage definitely changes people. Emperors of the olden days hide their young mistresses in their fancy houses, so what business do you have hiding rabbits out here?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s hiding them? I¡¯m openly raising rabbits.¡± Adrian was giddy as he said, ¡°I bought that big one at the very last day of last year.¡±


    But unfortunately, Fayn who could usually empathize with him very well was now a little drunk, and his mind was buzzing a little. Moreover, all he could think about right now was Wei Lan, so he did not hear the hidden proudness in his words and nodded. ¡°Oh.¡±


    He did not realize it, but Adrian was persistent in bragging. ¡°I had to drive out two star systems over to buy it as a New Year¡¯s Present for Zhong Yan. He liked it so much.¡±


    Fayn paused. Then, he pounced over to him with his fists out. ¡°You asshole! You¡¯ve been showing off since we were having dinner earlier. Would it kill you to lay off a little?!¡±


    ¡°When did I show off during dinner?¡±


    ¡°The two of you were practically eating out the same plate! Is that even necessary?!¡±


    ¡°So what if I eat the things he doesn¡¯t like to eat?¡±


    Adrian easily intercepted Fayn¡¯s punch. In the time it took for the two of them to joke with each other, they had already begun to spar. Even though Fayn didn¡¯t drink much more than Adrian, he ended up revealing an opening in just a few moves. Adrian caught it in one fell swoop and grappled him.


    ¡°Do you submit?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Wanna continue?¡±


    Fayn swiftly conceded. ¡°No no, no more.¡±


    The both of them let go of the same time. Fayn sighed. ¡°Ah, time passes so quickly. I really miss those days when you used to pummel me to the ground when we just arrived here.¡±


    Adrian had not adjusted himself as soon as he came here. When they had just arrived, there was a short time in his life when Adrian would fight all throughout the day, and numb himself with alcohol at night to sleep. One time, he was taking a bath after a bit too many drinks, and he was so drunk that he fell asleep in the bathtub. When Fayn found him the next day, half his body was still submerged in the cold water and he almost seemed dead. Fayn¡¯s hands were shaking so much that he couldn¡¯t find his pulse, and before the emergency doctor could arrive, Adrian had already been woken up by Fayn. Fayn had instantly went to beating him as he cried, and that may have been the only time in Adrian¡¯s life that he just laid there to get beaten without fighting back.


    Nobody mentioned this matter again in the years that followed. Fayn may seem happy-go-lucky, but there was a cautious side to him too, and he was a reliable person. He was also one of the top rankers in the Supreme Institution when they graduated, and he had even gotten higher marks than Adrian in one of the sections. The reason he was able to sit at one of the topmost positions, beneath only a single man in the Navi Military Command, was not because of his personal relationship with the Supreme Commander. Adrian was an impartial person after all.


    Now, when their most difficult years were mentioned again, Adrian did not feel upset by it at all. Instead, he felt pleased. ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing you can do but miss it. After all, I already succeeded in proposing. I¡¯m really lucky I kept that ring with me. If I¡¯d known I would succeed, I would¡¯ve told you to keep the flowers too. I¡¯m even thinking about having a wedding when everything¡¯s settled.¡±


    As he said that, he raised his left hand to Fayn to show him the ring. The two of them had been as busy as dogs in Lebor these past few days, and they only talked about work any time they bumped into each other at work. They hadn¡¯t had the time to have a private chat like this. This was the first time Fayn had seen Adrian¡¯s ring in such close proximity. Even though he could not understand if those mysterious curves were an artistic thing, but Fayn was still deeply shocked when he saw the earth-shattering designs of the two names jutting out of the ring in a font that looked like their terminal¡¯s default font.


    ¡°Brother, it may have been the right choice not to have proposed back then. If you had to propose to him while he was awake with this ring, I think the chances of him agreeing would be extremely low.¡± Fayn said sincerely. ¡°What on earth is this out here? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone¡­I mean, if you¡¯re going to engrave the name, then just engrave it. Why is it outside? Even if it¡¯s outside, you could have just engraved it¡­but why is it jutting out? But forget that, why did you use the terminal¡¯s default font? Don¡¯t people usually do it in cursive?¡±


    Adrian took back his hand and dismissed it. ¡°What do you know? Who¡¯s gonna be able to see if it¡¯s carved inside? And cursive is all squiggly and whatever. You can hardly read what¡¯s written in it! This is how you gotta do it if you want people to see who this ring belongs to.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I see it nice and clear. The virtual community¡¯s been up these past two days trying to figure out what that thing is on your finger. They didn¡¯t have a close up of your hand during Lebor¡¯s conference, so next time remember to lift your hand to the live broadcast camera and let them take a real good look at the words on your ring,¡± Fayn complained.


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous,¡± Adrian said. ¡°The designer¡¯s from the same grade as us. He even gave me a 20% discount back then. I just saw him comment on my homepage that he¡¯s opened his own store. Do you want to save his address? Might come in handy.¡±


    While saying that, Adrian opened his terminal and was just going to find him the address, but Fayn quickly stopped him. ¡°Please don¡¯t. After seeing your ring, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to work out.¡±


    But Adrian¡¯s face suddenly went stiff after he opened his terminal. After looking for a while, his brows finally relaxed. ¡°Let¡¯s head back. They should be done.¡±


    ¡°Your man sent you a message?¡±


    ¡°No, he sent a message to the entire Federation.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Fayn was stunned. Adrian moved his terminal over to him to show him. All he saw was the new post on Zhong Yan¡¯s own personal homepage.


    Zhong Yan (Verified Position: One of the Supreme Council¡¯s Twelve Representative Members): This giant space rabbit kit has been legally procured from the Giant Space Rabbit Research Institution with personal funds (see Figure 1). Mr. Adrian Yate owns properties that meet the conditions for private rearing purposes (see Figure 2 for the evaluation certificate provided by the institution). I personally hold the Giant Space Rabbit Breeding License (see Figure 3), so no illegal actions have taken place. The burnt fur was caused by me using a hairdryer, not with fire. Thank you, everyone, for your time and concern.


    Fayn clicked on all three of the pictures to see. The first one contained the transaction invoice that was only blurred out at the price section. The rest of the information could still be seen. Adrian had bought this lop-eared giant space rabbit kit on the very last day before New Year¡¯s at noon. The third image was the transcript of Zhong Yan achieving full marks in every section of the Giant Space Rabbit Breeding License assessment.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­shocking,¡± Fayn said sullenly. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to ask every time I see the ranking boards, but does he have some kind of special talent for exams?¡±


    ¡°No, he just puts in the effort,¡± Adrian said. He was actually not the only person who noticed this. When the number of comments was still madly soaring up, most of the people were discussing the first two pictures or the matter in itself. However, one comment caught Adrian¡¯s attention.


    ¡°As expected of a Representative Member. Can¡¯t you use your brains even if you¡¯re going to go through the back door? Passing the exams with a perfect score? You think we¡¯re all stupid?¡±


    Adrian who didn¡¯t care at all about his tens of thousands of hate messages was instantly burning with rage. He turned off his anonymity software and responded to it with his real account. ¡°@Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution (Official Certification: Official Webpage of the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution) inviting all of Zhong Yan¡¯s past teachers and lecturers, as well as students who have seen the ranking boards. Is it really abnormal for Zhong Yan to pass the assessment with full marks?¡±

 Chapter 68 - Fake News

    Adrian was just about to head back into the house with Fayn when the noise of their conversation alerted the giant space rabbit that was resting in its nest. The rabbit ran out and followed right behind the shadows of the two, but fortunately, both Adrian and Fayn stopped as soon as they heard a noise. Otherwise, if the rabbit nudged them from behind, they¡¯d definitely fall over.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so fat,¡± Fayn exclaimed. He reached how to touched its thick fur. ¡°This is my first time touching a giant space rabbit. Doesn¡¯t feel half bad.¡±


    ¡°Of course it feels nice. I washed it just this morning. It¡¯s so big I nearly died of exhaustion.¡±


    ¡°Is it really that fat or is it all fur?¡±


    ¡°It really is that fat.¡± Adrian stood there with a straight face, allowing the rabbit to rub itself all over him. ¡°I used to think it was all fur too in the past. That is¡­until it got stuck in the entrance of the nest.¡±


    But Adrian did not mention about how Zhong Yan had gotten himself stuck inside of the nest. He could make jokes about the rabbit to make everyone laugh, but anything related to Zhong Yan was a no-go.


    Fayn laughed out loud when he heard that story, and his sudden outburst of laughter caused the rabbit to jump back in fright.


    ¡°Quiet down.¡± Adrian glared at him. ¡°It¡¯s big, but it¡¯s still a rabbit. They¡¯re very meek.¡±


    As if it understood him, the big fluffball tried to hide behind Adrian. Fayn couldn¡¯t help feeling curious. ¡°Does it recognize who its owners are?¡±


    ¡°Well, Zhong Yan said that giant space rabbits were much smarter than normal rabbits. With proper training, they could almost match regular canines in IQ¡ªBut of course, anything he says about giant space rabbits needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.¡±


    Adrian relied on the bit of rabbit training techniques he learned from Zhong Yan to coax the rabbit back into its nest. When they returned to the house, Wei Lan had just finished packing up his medical kit. Zhong Yan saw them coming back from the backyard and went over to greet them. ¡°You went to the backyard? I thought you two were talking in the study. Your clothes¡­Did you play with the rabbit again?¡±


    The red top Zhong Yan had finished cleaning up just before dinner was now covered in fur again, and there seemed to be even more than earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one playing with the rabbit, the rabbit¡¯s the one playing with me.¡± While saying that, Adrian patted down his own clothes, but Zhong Yan stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t brush it down to the floor, the cleaning robot will get jammed if there¡¯s too much fur. I¡¯ll pick them out for you later.¡±


    And so, Adrian could only stop. With his clothes covered in rabbit fur, he asked Wei Lan about Zhong Yan¡¯s recovery. Fortunately, he was recovering well, thanks to the good postoperative care he received.


    Wei Lan left him a detailed diagnosis sheet, and the two of them saw Fayn and Wei Lan out.


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll succeed tonight.¡± The two watched from the front yard as the car drove off. Adrian said, ¡°Fayn has already rejected two marriage proposals.¡±


    After seeing off the guests, Zhong Yan pinched Adrian and grumbled, ¡°You still have the heart to care about someone else?! I didn¡¯t want to say anything with outsiders around, but what on earth did you just do?!¡±


    ¡°What did I do?¡± Adrian asked, confused.


    Zhong Yan opened his virtual screen and moved it to his face, showing him the deeds he had done. Thanks to Adrian¡¯s mention, the Supreme Institution¡¯s official account responded. ¡°From a statistical perspective, it would be abnormal for Student Zhong Yan to not achieve full marks for a test at this level.¡±


    As a result of the participation of the Supreme Institution¡¯s official account, countless students following their page had also seen their reply. When Zhong Yan graduated, he had broken the highest score record in the School of Social Sciences¡¯ rankings, and the students of liberal arts schools are almost always ranked based on the accumulated scores of their test results. Even if they were not from the same grade as Zhong Yan, and had never seen Zhong Yan¡¯s results in the ranking with their own eyes, just his incomparable test scores that had been immortalized in the School of Social Science¡¯s history at the very top of its leaderboard, and by word-of-mouth through the posts in the school forum, it was enough to imagine how grand an occasion it was that year.


    The Supreme Institution accepts only the most elite of students. Naturally, the quality of its graduates will not be poor. No matter what their standpoint was, Zhong Yan¡¯s abilities in the exams represented the Supreme Institution¡¯s standards. To question his ability is to question the Supreme Institution itself. Countless graduates and current students of the Supreme Institution were lining up to mock and ridicule that ignorant poster, and there were even many bigwigs who had already achieved much in society coming in to join them as well. For a moment, this comment had almost become the most popular gathering spot for students of the Supreme Institution in the virtual community these recent years.


    Zhong Yan could feel his head buzzing with pain. ¡°I just helped to clear your name and you immediately end up attacking an ordinary citizen¡ªBut that alone is enough, you even rallied up the people from the school to attack him! I bet you get a lot of heat from your PR department, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Who said so? I rarely spoke in the virtual community these past few years, so what can they say about me? The last time I was pestered by the PR department was when they thought we had a kid.¡±


    ¡°What kid? Don¡¯t try to change the subject.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s strategy to change the subject failed, so he could only say, ¡°Alright, alright. We¡¯ll go back on topic. When did I attack him? I just invited our alumni to discuss what happened.¡±


    ¡°But the media will not think so,¡± Zhong Yan said.


    ¡°And will the media not spout nonsense with you posting to clear my name?¡± Adrian rebutted. ¡°You don¡¯t like seeing others accusing me, but I can¡¯t stand others talking bad about you even more. Only you are allowed to refute the people who scold me, but I¡¯m not allowed to do the same. That¡¯s a double standard, Councilor Zhong Yan.¡±


    Zhong Yan got pulled in by his unreasonable but sweet words. For a moment, all the worries in his heart turned into sweet honey. Adrian quickly brought up a new topic while he wasn¡¯t saying anything to brush this current chapter aside.


    ¡­¡­


    At night, Adrian lay in bed looking at his terminal. Suddenly, the sound of the water stopped in the bathroom. Zhong Yan shouted from inside, ¡°Ade!¡±


    Adrian quickly jumped up from bed. He was worried that he may have fell inside or something, and quickly rushed into the bathroom, asking anxiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What happened to the shower gel in the bathroom?¡± Zhong Yan asked from behind the shower curtain. ¡°Why did you come in? Close the door, it¡¯s cold.¡±


    Adrian breathed a sigh of relief and said over the shower curtain, ¡°I thought something happened to you. I used up all the shower gel this morning to wash the rabbit. I¡¯ll bring you a new bottle.¡±


    ¡°What? You used it all when washing the rabbit?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The rabbit¡¯s so big, of course I used the whole bottle.¡±


    Zhong Yan was shocked. ¡°You used the shower gel to wash the rabbit? Shouldn¡¯t you have used the shampoo instead?¡±


    Adrian hesitated in confusion for a moment. Then, he said matter-of-factly, ¡°You use shower gel to wash your body, and shampoo to wash your head, no?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works,¡± Zhong Yan was dumbfounded. ¡°Shower gel is used to wash skin, you use shampoo to wash hair.¡±


    Only then did Adrian had the realization as if he was suddenly enlightened. That really seemed to be the case.


    Even though the two were separated by the shower curtain, they still seemed to be able to see each other¡¯s confused expressions.


    Zhong Yan did not know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°I was just thinking the rabbit smelled really familiar today. The shower gel we have has a very sweet smell.¡±


    It felt a little strange to talk naked, so he quickly sent Adrian away to get him a new bottle of shower gel. Adrian was also worried that Zhong Yan would catch a cold if he kept the door open, so he quickly closed the door and went off to get it.


    Soon after, Adrian returned with a new bottle of shower gel. Zhong Yan thanked him and reached a hand out to grab the bottle, but he could not make it budge for a moment.


    Adrian was a little dazed as he saw the hand that was half-exposed from behind the shower curtains. Droplets of water could still be seen on Zhong Yan¡¯s hand, and the slender fingers were clasped around the center of the bottle. Looking further up, he could see his fair wet hands disappear behind the shower curtain, making him wonder about the other parts of his unclothed body that must also be encased in the water and mist at this moment. He himself had seen how fascinating that body was, especially when its muscles contracted, or when it trembled¡­


    ¡°Ade?¡± Zhong Yan asked suspiciously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Adrian came back to his senses abruptly. He had already gotten a reaction down there, so he let go awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Quickly finish up, don¡¯t catch a cold.¡±


    When Zhong Yan came out of the bathroom, Adrian wasn¡¯t there. Zhong Yan put on his rabbit pajamas and walked out of the bedroom suspiciously, and walked around the house. He could hear the sounds of the water running in the second-floor bathroom. Clearly, Adrian was washing up inside.


    Usually, Adrian would wait for Zhong Yan to finish up in the master bedroom¡¯s bathroom before he would take his own shower. He went off to another bathroom to shower without even waiting for him to finish. Why was he in such a hurry today? Zhong Yan returned to the room, confused. He didn¡¯t take too long in there today either, right?


    ¡­¡­


    By the time Adrian returned to the room after his shower, Zhong Yan had already cuddled up in bed. Adrian got on the bed and asked, ¡°You said you were going to talk to me after dinner earlier today, about the steak. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°Don¡¯t legal partners have the rights to see each other¡¯s recent large-scale income and expenditures? Just open up my recent records and you¡¯ll find out.¡±


    The reason why Zhong Yan was able to show everyone Adrian¡¯s bill for the giant space rabbit was because of this function. Adrian looked at it for a while and finally realized that Zhong Yan had bought the secret black pepper sauce recipe from that shop at a relatively hefty price for non-commercial use.


    Adrian sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of money you¡¯re willing to spend for a recipe. You were even crying to me about how poor you were when I asked you for 400,000.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to give it to you. You wouldn¡¯t marry me if I did. Even though I never expected I¡¯d really be able to marry you as well back then¡­But I hoped I could drag it on for as long as I could. What¡¯s more, you said you liked the taste¡­¡± Zhong Yan was a little embarrassed and his voice had turned so quiet it was hardly audible. ¡°Any amount would be worth it.¡±


    Adrian was ecstatic. He leaned over and gave Zhong Yan¡¯s cheek a peck before carrying him into his arms. He played with the rabbit ears on his pajamas while he asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Just looking at the news.¡± With flushed cheeks, Zhong Yan pulled his rabbit ears back. ¡°Don¡¯t pull my ears. Right, why did you go upstairs to shower earlier?¡±


    ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t Wei Lan say that you need needed two more days before you recover?¡± Adrian ended up saying something irrelevant, and after Zhong Yan nodded, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you again in two days.¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his head to look up at Adrian for a few seconds, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what he meant. But he was always the meek one when he was alone with Adrian, so he did not delve too deeply into it. Instead, he shared with Adrian the fresh news he had just seen. ¡°I just saw in the trending posts that there seems to be a new breed of giant space rabbit that was successfully cultivated today. Many people were celebrating, but I looked through the Giant Space Rabbit Research Institution¡¯s official website and it didn¡¯t have any updates at all. Right, I also saw a post on the topic from one of the senior sisters from our school. She also helped me out back then. Should I message her to remind her that this is fake news?¡±

 Chapter 69 - Don’t Let Go

    ¡°Someone who helped you? Which senior sister?¡± Adrian asked. Zhong Yan showed him his virtual screen. Everything was fine before he saw it, but seeing it now caused Adrian to nearly drop his cup onto the bed.


    He saw a senior sister that was still relatively familiar to him posting on her page. ¡°Warmly celebrating the historic breakthrough of the silver-eyed giant space rabbit breeding research.¡±


    Adrian put his cup back to the table beside the bed and played it cool. ¡°No need to message her. Just let her believe it if she wants to. It¡¯s better to avoid any troubles we can. With our current conjecture, the less we say, the less other people can find faults with us.¡±


    ¡°So you are still aware of that, huh?¡± Zhong Yan huffed. ¡°The next time you post something to a public platform, you have to discuss it with me first!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, anything you say. I¡¯ll make sure to let you check my work next time.¡± Adrian saw that he had managed to dispel his idea of messaging the girl, and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up his cup again from the table and took a sip of water. Zhong Yan was leaning on his body and looked up by chance. Suddenly, he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this my cup?¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Adrian raised the cup to look. The cups they bought were a couple set. Zhong Yan¡¯s cup had the left half of the heart, while Adrian¡¯s had the right half. Right now, the one Adrian was currently holding was the one given to Zhong Yan when they bought them.


    Adrian did not mind it too much. ¡°It¡¯s fine, neither of us has any contagious diseases. What¡¯s more, the cup was just washed.¡±


    ¡°But the significance of it is that it¡¯s supposed to be exclusive for each person in the relationship. You can¡¯t mix them.¡±


    This was the very first time Adrian, as a man without any experience in love, had heard this saying. ¡°Why? Who said so?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like a sense of ritual. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be any different from buying two identical cups. If they were both the same, how could it reflect our relationship as a couple?¡± Zhong Yan insisted.


    They had been sharing two identical cups back then when they were still sharing a dorm, but now, their relationship had changed, and Zhong Yan was very sensitive about it. If he could, he would definitely want to emphasize the fact that they were a couple in every detail of their life. He had switched out all the regular cutlery, cups, and bowls. He was even planning to buy two pairs of couple chopsticks from a shop several star systems away, but spending that much on delivery fees just for two pairs of chopsticks did not feel worth it. Even though their current economic situation was much better than the ordinary citizen, Adrian had just tossed away half of their family assets after all, so they should not be too luxurious. It¡¯s better to save up wherever they can, so he ended up not buying the chopsticks in the end.


    Adrian knew that Zhong Yan had many OCD triggers in his daily life. Take for example, the spaces that he had hung around in would always be cleaned, and every item on every surface would be neatly arranged. Also, he could never stop fussing over the cleaning robot¡¯s ability to do its job. He would always follow it around to check how it was doing. If the engineer who designed the cleaning robot found out about this, they would definitely die of anger. And also, he could never stand seeing people with wrinkles on their clothes, or having anything stuck on them. He will always go up to correct it as soon as he sees it. But of course, that was only limited to his and Adrian¡¯s clothes.


    When he thought about all this, Zhong Yan¡¯s fixation on not mixing their couple items did not seem like such a big deal anymore. Adrian had always been infinitely indulgent in these trivial matters when it came to Zhong Yan. He gave him a nice smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go change my cup.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± After saying that, Zhong Yan got up. ¡°Just leave the cup here for me. I¡¯m thirsty as well.¡±


    Adrian hooked one hand around him and locked him by his side, not allowing him to get up. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it, you just lay down.¡±


    Zhong Yan laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not used to you being so attentive.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Adrian said. He stood by the bed and leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you just like this from now on until forever.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    By the time Adrian returned with his cup in hand, Zhong Yan was sitting on the bed talking with someone. His back was very straight, and that motionless, imposing mask was back on his face. When he saw Adrian enter, he could clearly be seen to have relaxed a little. His facial expression had also grown softer even if his tone of speech was still as serious as ever.


    ¡°Yes. Push everything back, cancel all the plans.¡±


    ¡°Notify our spies by Pearson¡¯s side. Tell them to find a way to speed it up, preferably before the heat from Lebor¡¯s news dies down.¡±


    ¡°Without exposing himself, I want it done as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t let Cayman come forward. He must not be involved in this matter. Neither should I. Not only can we not promote it, we must also oppose it in public. Otherwise, it will be difficult to convince the public in the future. I can only tell my contacts to do it. Do you understand what I mean, Intron?¡±


    Adrian guessed that something must have happened in the capital. Perhaps the meeting about Lebor finally came to fruition? He laid down beside Zhong Yan. He listened in as Zhong Yan made his arrangements while his hands began to play with the rabbit ears on his hood.


    Zhong Yan, who was wearing the fluffy rabbit pajamas was listening intently to the person on the other side of the call, pulled his ears back absently.


    ¡°Has Sir Yate¡¯s men contacted you? I thought he would be more patient. But this is good. Just send all the information I prepared you for our surrender to him.¡±


    ¡°Be careful. When the time is right, I will return to preside over the general situation.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s call ended. Only after hanging up did Zhong Yan realize that his rabbit ears had been pulled away by another Sir Yate and played around with. He pulled his ears back and said seriously to Adrian, ¡°The Round Table Meeting just ended. They¡¯ve decided to admit their misjudgment.¡±


    Only two results could have come out of that Round Table Meeting. To admit or not to admit. If they admit that they had a misjudgment, then the Capital¡¯s credibility among its people would be shaken, and drop down to a freezing point. But if they did not admit it, Lebor¡¯s move in joining Navi would be considered a rebellion. If the Capital did not forcefully take back Lebor, then they would also be questioned by the entire Federation. These were the results of their analysis in one of their meetings at Headquarters. This time, the possibility of the Capital admitting it is higher. After all, for the Capital that as full of fear for the Navi Military Command, not admitting it would only make things more complicated. This result was within Adrian¡¯s expectations.


    Adrian looked at Zhong Yan, who was sitting respectfully in bed, waiting for his answer with a serious expression. He tried to endure it, but failed in the end, and broke out in laughter.


    Zhong Yan was stunned. ¡°What are you laughing about? I¡¯m being serious here.¡±


    He was fine before hearing him say that, but now Adrian was laughing even harder. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t do this, talking seriously with me in kid¡¯s pajamas¡­Hahahahaha! It¡¯s too funny! Have you ever seen that picture on the net, the one with a really serious looking rabbit just laying there? Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Is it really that funny?¡± Zhong Yan asked blankly while Adrian nodded at the side. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you something you won¡¯t be able to laugh about. The terms brought up by the radicals to compromise with this situation is the implementation of the ¡°Honor Decree¡± ahead of schedule.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s smile went stiff on his face. As he said, he really couldn¡¯t laugh about this.


    ¡°Then, earlier, you were talking to Intron about¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to suspend the publication of Pearson being the one behind the Lebor attack.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°This is already the extent of which Qu Yongyi is able to cooperate with us. There¡¯s no way we can expect him to appear in court as a witness or whatever. We did not have perfect assurance for this plan to begin with. There are too many openings on our side for criticism. We have no witness, and even the supplier of the physical evidence is unwilling to show themselves to verify the authenticity. It may not be possible to pull him off his seat as Representative Councilor. But if¡­.if his name has already been dragged in the mud by the media, and the people of the federation feel betrayed by him, then we may not need to have substantial information to expose him when the time comes. As long as the evidence is justifiable, just the public opinion alone will be able to drown him to death with a little oil added to the fire.¡±


    The media and the public. To incur the hate of hundreds of millions of citizens is a weapon stronger than any blade or gun, and Zhong Yan had always been good at guessing the hearts of people. Once he reaches a high enough position, and builds himself a big enough team, he will be able to manipulate the public¡¯s opinion to his will.


    As a leader, braving the rapids is truly a dangerous and terrifying thing. Motionless, Adrian looked at Zhong Yan for a while, and decided to discuss on work first. ¡°Is the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ his betrayal to the people?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you told Intron to tell your men to accelerate the implementation of the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s best if we can link these two matters together. The ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ was drafted under direct orders of Pearson. It is a radical and stiff act that will inevitably cause a rebound in accordance with the current social trend as soon as it¡¯s announced. There isn¡¯t much to do. We just have to capture a few prime examples¡­¡± Before Zhong Yan could finish speaking, he caught sight of Adrian¡¯s less than pleasant expression and could not help but stop. His originally calm tone had now become a little anxious. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you think it¡¯s inappropriate?¡±


    No, nothing¡¯s wrong with it. From a general perspective, this is the most effective way of getting rid of Pearson. For the sake of achieving their goals, they had to speed up the issuance of some ridiculous law, and waiting for a victim to appear to stir the flames and turn the situation around. Then, to beat him while he was still down. Of course Adrian understood all of this. Nothing was wrong with this. If he were to stop Zhong Yan on his moral high ground, then he would truly be too soft-hearted. Sometimes, he would also make some compromises in the name of justice, but he knew full well that Zhong Yan was not doing this for the same reasons. What¡¯s more, this was Zhong Yan¡¯s regular routine. There was no compromise.


    Since Adrian was not speaking, Zhong Yan began to feel more and more uneasy. He himself did not have limits to his morality, but that did not mean that he did not know where the limits of other people lie. With some hesitation, he said, ¡°Ade¡­You wanted to stop the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯, right? This law expands the power of AI infinitely. I know you are against it, but you can¡¯t build the new without destroying the old. This is our opportunity to break through the deadlock. Otherwise, Navi will likely be stuck in this situation with the Capital for decades to come. When the next generation comes¡­there may not necessarily be a good enough leader who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you¡­¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Adrian interrupted Zhong Yan. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to stop your plans. Your judgment is decisive and efficient. It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    He brought Zhong Yan into his own arms and pressed his head tightly to his chest with one hand. ¡°I just¡­have to keep a tighter watch on you in the future. You¡¯re too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Zhong Yan raised his head and spoke seriously, ¡°I will report to you every step of the way. You have to watch me, and supervise me well. Make sure to keep your hold on my ropes, and don¡¯t ever let go.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s eyes darkened. He responded firmly, ¡°I¡¯ll never let go.¡±


    With his desires to conquer as a man ignited, the hand that had been clasped around the back of Zhong Yan¡¯s head grabbed onto his hair and forced his head up to receive his kiss. The body of the dangerous man went soft, and like a tamed creature, circled his arms around Adrian¡¯s neck, allowing him to seize his lips, completely invading every inch of his soft mouth.


    He retracted his fangs and turned back into the meek and harmless little creature that only appeared in front of Adrian.

 Chapter 70 - Unidentified White Spherical Object

    Compared to the liveliness throughout the Federation and the virtual community after the Capital acknowledged their misjudgment, Adrian was relatively relaxed, and he could spend most of his time at home every day.


    And so, Zhong Yan¡¯s blessed and happy life finally came to an end.


    This morning, Adrian had taken Zhong Yan to the backyard for some reason. Zhong Yan asked what he was going to do, and he responded with, ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡±


    Adrian was definitely a romantic. For example, Zhong Yan liked to eat cake, so he bought an oven and learned to make them by himself. Zhong Yan had been eating small, slightly burnt cakes, or cakes where the sugar was forgotten for several days in a row. But despite that, he would still give high praises to Adrian, telling him that the cakes he made tasted much better than the ones they bought from stores.


    Taking him to the backyard now, he figured perhaps that Adrian might have added a new feature to the rabbit nest, or maybe he bought a giant decorative bow or whatnot for the rabbit. Zhong Yan was holding Adrian¡¯s hand, fantasizing about the lop-eared rabbit with a bow on.


    They arrived at the nest, and the snow-white rabbit was basking under the sun as usual.


    The nest was still just a nest, and the rabbit was still just a rabbit.


    ¡°What are you going to show me?¡± Zhong Yan wondered. He crouched down to bring the small rabbit out from its nest. But before he could set it down on his palm, it was snatched away by Adrian.


    ¡°Play with the rabbit later. From today on, we¡¯re going to start our running exercise program.¡± As if Adrian had just thrown a bomb, Zhong Yan was dazed for a moment. Then, he turned and tried to run away.


    Adrian grabbed his arm nimbly and stepped forward to lock him into his embrace.


    ¡°What are you running for? Do you think you can escape?¡± Adrian very easily suppressed him in his arms practically without any struggle while he was holding the small rabbit in his other hand. He laughed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not impossible. Then, we won¡¯t have to use the route I thought of for you. You can just run from here back to the house. I will go and catch you. Then, I¡¯ll bring you back, and you can start over. Do that maybe ten times and I¡¯ll consider your daily exercise done. What do you say?¡±


    Zhong Yan knew that he would not take no for an answer, so he asked reluctantly, ¡°Then¡­what¡¯s the original route?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not too long.¡± Adrian said, ¡°Look at the ground.¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan notice the small track shaped oval drawn on the lush green grass with white paint around the rabbit¡¯s nest, and the nest was exactly in the middle.


    ¡°In the beginning, you¡¯ll run five laps per day,¡± Adrian announced.


    ¡°Five laps?¡± Zhong Yan complained, shocked. ¡°You just said it wasn¡¯t much!¡±


    ¡°This track is only a hundred meters in length. Five laps all together is only 500 meters.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s still¡­I just had surgery!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already recovered. Also, your doctor was the one who built the exercise plan.¡±


    Zhong Yan tugged at Adrian¡¯s sleeves and raised his head pitifully at him. ¡°Five laps is too much, I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Acting cute with me won¡¯t work.¡± Adrian put on a straight face.


    Zhong Yan thought about it for a while, then he tilted his head and asked, ¡°Then, will a kiss work?¡±


    Adrian was shot directly in the heart. He tried his best to stop his lips from curving up and deliberately teased, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll think about it after you kiss me.¡±


    Zhong Yan grabbed his lapel. He stood on his tiptoes to give a light peck on one corner of Adrian¡¯s lips. Unable to wait a moment longer, he asked, ¡°Can I run two laps less?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Adrian pretended to think about it for two seconds before hitting the nail firmly on the head. ¡°Nope.¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan realize he had been fooled. He was so angry that he stomped on the ground. ¡°You tricked me!¡±


    ¡°No I didn¡¯t. I said I¡¯d think about it, and now I did think about it. The answer is no.¡± Adrian lifted Zhong Yan¡¯s chin with one hand and lowered his head to give him a firm kiss on the lips. ¡°There, I¡¯ve returned your deposit. That¡¯s not a loss for you, right?¡±


    Adrian was adamant, and he even began playing petty tricks on him when he tried to shake him. Zhong Yan was completely out of moves, so the only thing he could do was to begin running with Adrian accompanying him, aggrieved.


    When Zhong Yan had finished following Adrian at a snail¡¯s pace around the track for the second lap, they attracted the attention of the giant space rabbit that was sunbathing. It hopped over to observe them. Its huge body laid right on top of the track. Gasping, Zhong Yan asked, ¡°If I walk around the rabbit, that¡¯s going to be a distance of at least half the circle, right?¡±


    Adrian was much quicker than Zhong Yan. When he fell too far behind, he would even run back to him. Even so, his breathing was still unfettered as he spoke, almost as if he was just walking normally. ¡°What do you mean half a circle? It¡¯s not even that many steps!¡±


    Clasping his hand around the shirt at his chest, Zhong Yan had to pause after every word, but he still spoke on resolutely, ¡°One time, won¡¯t be many, but, I have to, go past, the rabbit, every time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be sitting here in the next lap,¡± Adrian gave him a guarantee. He let Zhong Yan go first while he stroked the furry nose of the giant space rabbit. The rabbit thought he wanted to play with him, and happily, it followed him a few steps away, leaving the track.


    When Adrian ran back over and caught up with Zhong Yan, Zhong Yan was looking at his clothes, triggered. While gasping, he said with difficulty, ¡°Your clothes¡­It¡¯s covered in, rabbit, rabbit fur¡­¡±


    ¡°Rabbit rabbit fur? Rabbit fur is just rabbit fur!¡± Adrian teased his speech on purpose. He admired the sight of Zhong Yan glaring at him in a huff but being unable to speak. ¡°Alright, didn¡¯t we just buy a lint roller? We can deal with it after we¡¯re done running. The rabbit isn¡¯t on the track anymore. I lured it away.¡±


    As he said this, the two of them had just reached the other side of the rabbit¡¯s nest, so they couldn¡¯t see the giant space rabbit on the other side. By the time they passed the nest and came back around, all they saw was the empty grass.


    Zhong Yan who was short of breath from running had his entire mind and body focused on the track. He did not pay any attention to his surroundings, but Adrian realized that something was off. ¡°Hold on, where¡¯s the rabbit?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you¡­¡± Zhong Yan stopped and supported himself on his knees for a little while, panting, ¡°bring it back to the nest?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the small one. I think the big one¡¯s missing!¡± Adrian was shocked. There was no other cover in the backyard except for the rabbit nest so they should be able to see something as big as that rabbit in one glance, but the grass was empty. ¡°It was just here earlier.¡±


    Zhong Yan was also stunned. But he finally remembered the key prop. ¡°Where¡¯s the rope?¡±


    In order to prevent the rabbit from running all over the place, they tied a 300-meter extra-long traction rope specially made for giant space rabbit pets around one of its legs, and secured the other end to the door of the giant space rabbit¡¯s nest. The two hurried over to the nest¡¯s entrance. The rope was still there, but the rabbit that should have been hanging down was shooting straight towards the sky.


    Both Adrian and Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes followed up along the rope, only to see a big white ball of fluff floating in the air at the end of the rope, 300 meters in the sky.


    ¡­That¡¯s right, this is a giant space rabbit. They don¡¯t necessarily live on land!


    The reason why they are called giant space rabbits is because they are amphibians who can live both in outer space and on land. Besides their huge size, the one thing that fascinates scientists the most is the creature¡¯s ability to overcome gravity autonomously.


    As for the one they had, it had always been really lazy since they began raising it. It usually liked to just lay around, and they had never seen it floating before. As a result, this family of two humans had completely forgotten this special characteristic of the giant space rabbits.


    Adrian and Zhong Yan both looked up at it for a while as they stood there. Zhong Yan opened his terminal and took a few pictures.


    ¡°Looking at it from afar, doesn¡¯t it seem a little¡­round?¡± While checking the photos he took, Zhong Yan said, ¡°The giant space rabbits we saw on that touristic planet we visited last time were floating even higher up, but you can still tell it¡¯s a rabbit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lop-eared rabbit and a short-legged one. Other rabbits can raise their ears, so of course they look like rabbits. What¡¯s more, what kind of misunderstandings do you have with our rabbit? It¡¯s just fat.¡±


    ¡°It must be eating too much,¡± Zhong Yan decided. ¡°I told you not to feed it every other day. Feeding it once a week is more like it. Sigh, we¡¯ve been too busy recently, but we should actually bring the rabbit to space every once in a while for walks.¡±


    Adrian smacked a fist to his palm. ¡°We¡¯ll do it tonight.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still two and a half laps left. Let¡¯s finish our run first.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s gotten you so active all of a sudden?¡± Adrian was slightly surprised. ¡°You looked like you¡¯d rather die earlier.¡±


    ¡°And I still do,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°but I know how bad my constitution is¡­I asked the doctor the other day, and he said that my lifespan will be affected if I don¡¯t improve it now.¡±


    When he heard this, Adrian was furious. ¡°What is he jabbering about? What do you mean affect your lifespan? Are these the sort of words a doctor should be telling his patient?¡±


    Wei Lan¡¯s medical skills were great, the only annoying part about him is his tendency to speak the truth regardless of the occasion. While complaining about him, Adrian suddenly recalled how just a few days ago, Fayn had been walking like he was on cloud nine. It¡¯s like he couldn¡¯t wait to tell everyone at Headquarters that Wei Lan agreed to try things out with him. He didn¡¯t even understand what¡¯s so great about going out with Wei Lan.


    Zhong Yan quickly tugged his clothes. ¡°Why are you blaming the doctor? I was the one who asked him what it would affect. It¡¯s not like he could just lie. Actually, I didn¡¯t care much about this in the past. In my opinion, I¡¯d be better off living a glorious life for 50 years than to live 100 dull ones. It¡¯s fine if my body is bad. As long as I could still work, there was nothing scary about having a short life. But now, it¡¯s different. I¡¯m married to you, and I¡¯m afraid now. I want to live longer.¡±


    ¡°Of course you¡¯ll live long,¡± Adrian said firmly. ¡°We will exercise every day from now on, and you¡¯ll eat all your meals according to your nutritional needs. I don¡¯t believe that it won¡¯t happen.¡±


    Zhong Yan came over to hug him, and buried his face in his chest, giving him a muffled promise.


    But before they could be lovey-dovey for long, Adrian¡¯s ringtone sounded.


    The situation in Lebor has stabilized so Adrian did not go to Headquarters today. He thought that something happened in Lebor that required his input. But when he looked at the name, it was actually the Headquarters¡¯ Reception Desk.


    This was an external department. After all, the family members of many soldiers in the Navi Military Command are still living here, and there was no council house in this star system. If they needed a response, these non-military citizens will need to call this department. Adrian had completely forgotten he still had this department¡¯s account added. He picked up the call doubtfully and asked what they needed.


    ¡°Commander, two families have just called to report that a large unidentified white spherical object is in the sky near them. We have analyzed the position from the videos sent to us by the two residents and it seems to be over your personal residence. Are you safe right now? Do you know what the strange white object is?¡±

 Chapter 71 - A Drink

    ¡°What do you mean spherical? Are you all blind? Don¡¯t you see that big tail at the back?¡± Adrian said in a huff. ¡°Reply back to them, that¡¯s my giant space rabbit. They¡¯re likely going to see it often in the future, so don¡¯t kick up a fuss over nothing!¡±


    Adrian hung up the call and turned to Zhong Yan. ¡°Sure enough, we can¡¯t just leave the rabbit in the nest all day. It¡¯s time to bring it out for some exercise.¡±


    You could say he had only agreed with Zhong Yan about taking it for a walk just to make him happy, but now he realized how grave the situation was. Usually, they had to look at the rabbit from the side every time they examined it. Since it was too big, it was hard to see anything wrong with it, but the rabbit was so fat it had actually lost its shape when seen from afar. Adrian really had to admit that he really fed it too much.


    After finishing his dinner today, he tied the end of the rope that was fixed to the nest to his personal spacecraft and flew the rabbit into space.


    Adrian parked the ship in a remote star system that was relatively far away from the travel route s. The two of them stood by the portholes, looking at the rabbit that was floating not far away from them. In the dense, dark universe, the white of the giant space rabbit was particularly prominent. Who knows if black giant space rabbits would become invisible in space?


    ¡°Is it just me or does it not look very happy?¡± Adrian looked at it for a while and concluded.


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°Giant space rabbits aren¡¯t canines. They won¡¯t appear very joyful when they¡¯re taken out for walks. But you still have to do it to keep it in good health.¡±


    So far, no results for the cause of the mutation has been found, so how did they find out that this is good for their health? Adrian didn¡¯t really believe it, but he was wise and did not ask Zhong Yan about that, lest he be forced to listen to rabbit science for another half hour.


    Currently, they were not far from the ground so they still had a bit of signal. Zhong Yan looked through the porthole for a while, then he returned to his seat to look at his terminal.


    With the Capital staying silent recently, Zhong Yan seemed to be getting a little impatient. Adrian walked over to his side and massaged the back of his neck, asking, ¡°What¡¯s happened that made it so you don¡¯t even want to look at the rabbit anymore?¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just checking if there¡¯s news.¡±


    Frequent contact will increase the risk of exposure, so he could only look at other news and handle other business affairs to relieve the anxiety in his heart.


    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s no use getting too strung up about it.¡± Adrian sat on the chair across from him. ¡°I think I have a few bottles of wine I left here in the ship from last time. Want a drink?¡±


    Zhong Yan asked, ¡°How are we going to go back if we drink alcohol?¡±


    ¡°The return is generally auto-pilot anyway. We don¡¯t have to drive.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like drinking.¡±


    ¡°Come on, just a little toast to relax.¡±


    Accepting no refusals, Adrian brought two wine glasses over as well as a bottle of wine. Zhong Yan could only close his terminal and say helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m not strung up, I¡¯m just¡­¡±


    ¡°Anxious,¡± Adrian said. ¡°I know. You¡¯re just like how you were in the past, desperately going through your books before an exam. But did it really have to bother you so much? You never failed a single subject! I¡¯ve actually wanted to tell you to try having some wine when you¡¯re anxious since a long time ago, but we weren¡¯t allowed to drink in the dorms. Now that we¡¯ve graduated, nobody can say anything.¡±


    Zhong Yan picked up the bottle and looked at the label. ¡°What kind of alcohol is this?¡±


    Adrian filled both the glasses one-third of the way up. ¡°Navi¡¯s specialty, Never Wine. It¡¯s a must-have at parties. It¡¯s not a spirit. Give it a try. We¡¯re not really supposed to drink them in goblets, but these are all we have on the ship. It¡¯s just the two of us here anyway. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    He passed a glass to Zhong Yan and both of them clinked their glasses together. Then, each of them took a sip.


    The beverage was warm as it entered their mouths, and it had a sweet aftertaste. It really wasn¡¯t a spirit. Holding the glass, Zhong Yan thought for a while and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you nervous?¡±


    Adrian knew what he was trying to ask. The ¡°Honor Decree¡± was their call to strike. They have already been preparing to use this as an opportunity to launch an attack on the AI that had been raised as a supreme system for nearly a century. If they win this battle, their names would be recorded as heroes for the rest of life; if they lose, there was only eternal doom.


    With a storm soon to come, even if they had already prepared countless plans, and were ready to set off, Zhong Yan was still inevitably nervous before having to set off the stormy wave that will sweep across the entire Federation and change the course of human history forever.


    ¡°I¡¯m not nervous,¡± Adrian said. ¡°What¡¯s there to be nervous about? We¡¯ve already gone through so many meetings. The countless people supporting us from behind have worked so hard for this. We¡¯re fully prepared. Everything is ready. We don¡¯t need destiny on our side. We have enough to turn it around.¡±


    His words came out completely natural and unrestrained. Zhong Yan felt infected by him, and he agreed, ¡°You¡¯re right. We do have enough to turn destiny around. Cheers.¡±


    The two clinked their glasses and finished their wine in one go.


    Zhong Yan had been too busy this whole time. If he wasn¡¯t busy with his official duties at the Capital, then he¡¯s busy with household chores. He hadn¡¯t really taken the time to learn about Navi¡¯s local culture. If he talked more with the locals, he would know that though Never Wine was not a spirit, it was much stronger in comparison. Space pirates loved this kind of wine for how strong it was. It gave them the best excuse to indulge themselves with both the male and female entertainers at the feast after their drink.


    Adrian had a very good tolerance for alcohol. Though on one hand, he had given Zhong Yan Never Wine to help with his anxiety, he had some other ideas as well.


    As a newly-married couple at the prime of their lives, they actually didn¡¯t have much of a sex life. Both of them had their own ideals during their one fling before marriage, and they still restrained themselves in the end. Also, it was also their first time so it had been a bumpy ride. After their marriage, their minds were finally one, but the main issue was that they were too busy. Until today, they had at most helped each other out with just their hands a few times. Now, things have finally settled down, and they had some leisure time to spare¡­


    Adrian refilled their cups and stopped caring about wine glass etiquette, filling it up to the top.


    ¡°Are you going to leave after the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ is announced?¡±


    ¡°Not immediately,¡± Zhong Yan said as he raised his glass. ¡°But soon. As soon as this decree is promulgated, everything will begin to go down in a few day¡¯s time.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°Of course, you have to be in the Capital during the critical moment. I suspect I will not be in Navi at that time either.¡±


    ¡°It would be best if we don¡¯t have to go that far,¡± Zhong Yan said.


    Adrian¡¯s absence in Navi meant that both sides will already have gone hostile with each other, and that an armed conflict would have broken out. Adrian would be leading his team on a military expedition, but that was what Zhong Yan had been trying his best to avoid.


    ¡°If only that were possible¡­¡± Adrian said indifferently. ¡°Things can change at any time. It¡¯s no use thinking about it now. Let¡¯s drink up.¡±


    Zhong Yan threw his head back and gulped down half of his wine. Adrian was feeling secretly happy in his heart, but he had also downed half of his glass so as not to expose himself too early. Then, he refilled both their glasses again.


    They chatted as they drank. After an hour, they had already finished half of the relatively large bottle. Only then did Adrian finally realize that something was wrong.


    The alcohol was gradually taking effect. Even Adrian who had a good tolerance for alcohol was beginning to feel hot, while Zhong Yan who was sitting opposite him had flushed cheeks. But even so, he was still speaking articulately and logically about his life when he had just arrived at the Capital.


    Adrian could not believe it. He poured them another round, and half an hour later, Zhong Yan began to feel suspicious. ¡°Did you drink too much?¡±


    Both his cheeks were red, but his eyes were bright and sober. On the other hand, Adrian who was trying to get him drunk was already going down. He suspected that the first to fall from all this alcohol would be he himself. So, he could only give in. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I just¡­want to relax a little. Let¡¯s stop here. Xiao Yan, you¡­take your alcohol really well, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was trained from all the banquets.¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you can take any more. Should I bring you to the bed at the back so you can rest for a while?¡±


    ¡°Who can¡¯t take any more?¡± Adrian struggled to maintain his dignity. ¡°A glass to good health! It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t take it. We said we were only going to have a toast!¡±


    ¡°Alright alright, we had our toast, let¡¯s stop,¡± Zhong Yan giggled.


    Relying on the auto-pilot system, the two of them brought the giant space rabbit back to land with their ship. Adrian handles himself well when he¡¯s drunk, so he caused no problems even when intoxicated. He just got sleepy. The two of them returned home and fell asleep after a brisk shower. Both of them fell asleep just seconds after their heads fell to their pillows, and Adrian even thought that this was quite a shame¡­


    But he thought that too early.


    Two hours later, Adrian was woken up by Zhong Yan.


    Though he got drunk fast, he sobered up fast too. By the time he woke up, his head had already stopped buzzing. When he lifted his wrist to look at the time, it was already past midnight. Zhong Yan was looking at him with bright eyes, seemingly quite awake. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. Let¡¯s sing.¡±


    Adrian couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether he was dreaming.


    ¡°What should we sing? Do you know how to sing ¡®Be Good Little Rabbit¡¯?¡± Zhong Yan asked for his opinion.


    Adrian sat up confused. Zhong Yan looked normal on the surface, even the flush on his face was mostly gone. Adrian tried to ask, ¡°Why do you want to sing?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± Zhong Yan looked down, appearing rather embarrassed, ¡°I like you.¡±


    Flowers bloomed in Adrian¡¯s heart. Even though he didn¡¯t understand what was going on, he still answered, ¡°I like you too.¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at him for a while, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He suddenly gave him a slap on the chest. ¡°Then tell me so earlier!¡±


    ¡°¡­Your drunkenness came it a bit late, didn¡¯t it?¡± Adrian was caught off guard. Only now did he realize that he was drunk. Not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, he brought him into his arms. ¡°Okay, okay. Go to sleep. You¡¯ll be fine when you wake up.¡±


    ¡°No. Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you liked me earlier? I thought you didn¡¯t like me. I even had to force you when we slept together that day.¡±


    Adrian was shocked. ¡°What do you mean forced? No¡­forget it. What am I talking about to a drunk person? Go to sleep. What time do you think it is?¡±


    Zhong Yan climbed on top of Adrian and would not let him off. ¡°You can¡¯t sleep, we need to talk.¡±


    Honestly, Adrian had already given up on his earlier plans, but Zhong Yan was sitting right on top of the key part. Moreover, he was moving around restlessly. Adrian couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He turned over and pressed him down on bed. ¡°Forget talking, let¡¯s get physical.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    A fickle night passed like a spring breeze.


    The hour before dawn was when the night was darkest. It was raining hard outside the window in a billowing storm. Zhong Yan shrunk into Adrian¡¯s warm naked embrace and they cuddled each other to sleep on this island of tenderness.

 Chapter 72 - The Storm Has Arrived

    It will be a sunny morning a month later when the call to strike finally sounds.


    Thanks to their exploration and practice the night before, Zhong Yan was still sleeping. Adrian was the first to get up and he went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Zhong Yan. When his terminal rang, he was frying eggs¡ªa new skill Adrian had just learned. He put the cooked eggs on a plate and opened his terminal to check the news. The first thing he saw were the words ¡°Honor Decree¡± in bright red.


    Adrian immediately rushed into the room to wake Zhong Yan. Unexpectedly, when he opened the door he saw that he had already gotten up to look at the news.


    Winter had yet to pass completely, but the house was kept at a constant temperature. All four seasons felt as warm as spring. The potted plants planted by Zhong Yan a few days ago had already bloomed. When Adrian pushed open the door, it brought in a gust of wind that caused the delicate flowers on the windowsill to sway.


    Zhong Yan raised his head and looked at the door. He had just woken up and his cheeks were a soft pink that looked even more delicate than the flowers, but his expression was calm and steady. The eyes of the two met. Without any need for words, both knew the other had seen the message.


    ¡°Are you going to Headquarters now?¡± Zhong Yan asked.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be going out immediately. Breakfast is ready. Shall I bring it in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get up and eat. I¡¯ll see you off too while I¡¯m at it. It¡¯s getting windy outside. I brought out one of your thicker coats and washed it yesterday. It¡¯s in the sunroom.¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get up. I¡¯ll just bring your food in. Then you can sleep a while longer. I can get the coat myself.¡±


    ¡°How can I sleep? There¡¯s countless meetings waiting for me today.¡± Then, Zhong Yan put on a jacket and got off the bed. Besides, he was very doubtful about whether Adrian would get the right coat.


    One morning several days ago, Zhong Yan saw on the weather forecast that it was going to rain and get colder soon. He was worried that Adrian would get cold outside so he wanted to get him something thicker. Zhong Yan was usually the one who prepared his clothes, but there was one day where he had an emergency contact from the Capital so he didn¡¯t have time to do it. He told him to get the dark green velvet coat by himself. It was only after Adrian headed out did Zhong Yan realize that the coat he asked him to get was still inside the closet, and another thin, dark green coat for spring and autumn was gone. After that, Adrian still told him in confusion that it wasn¡¯t cold. Zhong Yan finally realized how difficult it was to instruct him to find a specific piece of clothing. Since his body was in good condition, Adrian¡¯s need for specific types of clothes was rare regardless of whether it was hot or cold. Before Zhong Yan came, he basically only wore two different sets of winter and summer clothes all year round. And now, having all sorts of different winter clothes added to his wardrobe, it was no wonder why he couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    Zhong Yan helped Adrian put on his coat and fixed up his collar. Then, Adrian planted a kiss on his forehead and hurried out.


    ¡°A TL;DR summary of what the fresh new ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ that¡¯s dropping next month is: Starting from next month, rejecting ¡®Butterfly¡¯s proposals can no longer be done by throwing out a little money. The fines for trivial matters is high enough to bankrupt you, and big ones would land you directly in prison. So for example, if ¡®Butterfly¡¯ tells you to make a baby and you don¡¯t feel like it, prison. If ¡®Butterfly¡¯ judges you suitable to be a cleaner after you finish your basic education but you still want to continue your studies, prison. If ¡®Butterfly¡¯ wants you to retire but you feel like you can still go on, everything you amassed in all your decades of hard work is confiscated. The Supreme Council says that this is because of the turmoil in society that has been happening these past two years. In order to strengthen their control, these are the measures taken to turn everyone¡¯s obedience into honor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared. Will there be orders telling people to die in the future? If you become useless to society, just obey the arrangements and die. Also, you have to feel honored even if you¡¯re asked to go die. This is your contribution to society.¡±


    ¡°Because of the turmoil in society? So what, are they blaming it on Navi now? It¡¯s clearly the councilors in the Supreme Council causing trouble behind the scenes. How shameless.¡±


    ¡°The hell is this? I had this shocking news thrown at me just before I was about to go to sleep. Is our sole purpose of living to maintain the stability of the Federation and to run an efficient society? What about our thoughts as sentient beings? Our freedom?¡±


    ¡°I think they¡¯ve got everything the wrong way. They¡¯ve been doing things in the wrong order since ¡®Cocoon¡¯ evolved into ¡®Butterfly¡¯. And now everything¡¯s a terrible mess.¡±


    ¡°It was just barely acceptable before, but is the current ¡®Butterfly¡¯ actually suitable? Hasn¡¯t this AI been making a lot of mistakes these past two years? Just change the AI.¡±


    ¡°Why do we have to have AI? The original ¡®Cocoon¡¯ was only created to process data and save labor costs. Now, everything we do is thrown to it to manage. We have to obey it no matter what whether it¡¯s right or wrong. That¡¯s already unbalanced. For those of you who thought this had nothing to do with you, do you still think the same after seeing this ¡®Honor Decree¡¯? Restore human autonomy. Every human being who wants their freedom and dignity has the obligation to support it.¡±


    ¡°You think you bunch of kids have any right to yell about freedom and dignity? How could we have our stable society of today without ¡®Butterfly¡¯? You¡¯re all a group of ungrateful fiends who don¡¯t know how blessed you are!¡±


    ¡°Okay, then you can kneel down and let them command you like the puppet you are to your honorable life. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think this is honorable. It¡¯s shameful.¡±


    ¡°Packing up my luggage and fleeing to Lebor, bye everyone.¡±


    ¡°Commenter above is too naive. As long as your identity is still listed as part of one of the 51 star systems, you¡¯re still within ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ scope of management. Otherwise, why do you think Yate still hasn¡¯t escaped marriage even after staying there for seven years?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s under ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ management system but they can¡¯t catch him, right? Does the Capital dare to send their troops to Navi and Lebor to capture people?¡±


    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t you become unregistered or a fugitive?¡±


    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you guys see what¡¯s going on? The world has already been thrown into chaos. Who cares if you¡¯re unregistered, focus on escaping for now. It¡¯ll be too late when that stupid moth asks you to marry and have kids with some disgusting guy. It¡¯s either that or prison!¡±


    ¡°Commander Yate, please knock down the Capital!¡±


    Zhong Yan closed the most popular post in the entire virtual community and said, ¡°Send out the long-term analysis in about an hour.¡±


    ¡°Got it. They¡¯ll realize we¡¯ve written this early on if we post it right now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m still experienced in this.¡± After being processed through a software, a voice of unknown gender was coming out from Zhong Yan¡¯s terminal. ¡°Articles targeting each age frame has already been prepared. We¡¯re just waiting to post them. Guaranteed well-written posts and bad reviews are ready to bomb all major communities and forums.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll keep in touch. I have some business to handle.¡± Zhong Yan hung up the completely untraceable call and picked up Intron¡¯s call.


    ¡°Sir Zhong, the lecturer just contacted me urgently¡­¡± Intron spoke very quickly, but Zhong Yan interrupted him, asking, ¡°Which lecturer?¡±


    ¡°Our lecturer¡ªSorry, our third-year lecturer in the Supreme Institution.¡±


    Both Zhong Yan and Intron studied under the same lecturer so they were fellow coursemates. This lecturer was also one of the main members of ¡®Specimen¡¯ from the Supreme Institution.


    ¡°Did he contact you to tell you that the students of the Supreme Institution are preparing to organize a protest?¡± Zhong Yan guessed.


    ¡°I¡ªHow did you know?¡± Intron was so shocked that he forgot his manners. ¡°Right, that¡¯s what he told me.¡±


    In recent years, the rejection rate of the Supreme Institution has approached the halfway mark. Most of the remaining half did not refused because ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ proposals managed to meet their expectations. It did not mean that they support the AI. For such a law to be announced right now, the ones most affected are the students who were just about to graduate and enter society. There was no need for Intron to tell Zhong Yan this. Earlier, he had already received fragments of information from other sources, and all the major universities had responded to varying degrees.


    Zhong Yan calmly ordered, ¡°Contact our lecturer now and tell him to go to the Specimen Store in the Supreme Institution. Ask him to get an order from the clerk. The clerk will ask what the order number is, tell him to answer the insect specimen order that was ordered two months ago. Then, he will receive a plan. Just leave the rest to our Supreme Institution¡¯s department.¡±


    Intron couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What plans?¡±


    ¡°To join in with the major universities to protest the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯.¡±


    The ¡°Honor Decree¡± has yet to be officially implemented, but what the Navi Military Command can do is limited. Adrian holding a meeting at Headquarters and asked the PR department to post the announcement they prepared to the official homepage of the Navi Military Command.


    The announcement states that both the Navi System and the Lebor System are welcoming their compatriots who accept human autonomy to settle in and are also willing to help more star systems return to human autonomy.


    This was a rare public provocation written in plain text. Not long after this announcement was posted, a strictly worded statement was also posted on Zhong Yan¡¯s homepage, stating that Mr. Zhong has been recuperating in the Navi System this whole time, so he knows nothing about the ¡°Honor Decree¡±. The issuance of this decree should have passed through a round table vote, but Mr. Zhong himself strongly condemns such unconstitutional laws and will return to the Capital to handle the matter.


    The law was issued in ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± name, and a Representative Councilor actually condemned the AI¡¯s actions. This was an occurrence that has never been seen in the century since the Round Table and its twelve members were established. Not only that, there was also Vahl Cayman of the Twelve who also issued a similar statement after Zhong Yan. For a moment, many debates broke out within the Federation. This was the very first time the Supreme Council was laid so bare in the public¡¯s eyes.


    When Adrian returned home, Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t in the house. He took off his jacket and went to the backyard to look for him. He found Zhong Yan plucking the rabbit¡¯s fur.


    The kit has been shedding these past few days, and a lot of its fur had been falling off. Zhong Yan could gather a full basket of its fur after his runs every day. He said he wanted to collect them so he could make two scarves out of them for Adrian and himself.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°Hm? You¡¯re back early,¡± Zhong Yan said, ¡°I¡¯ll be heading off in a few days. I just contacted a scarf making shop and they said the fur I collected wasn¡¯t enough. I was just about to send these out today. We almost have enough.¡±


    ¡°Let me help you,¡± Adrian said. Then, before Zhong Yan could refuse his offer, he began casually tugging off a few strands of the rabbit¡¯s fur and putting it in Zhong Yan¡¯s basket.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t just pull out its fur!¡± Zhong Yan called out.


    Confused, Adrian asked while holding the fur, ¡°But aren¡¯t you doing the same?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zhong Yan grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m just gathering the shed fur that¡¯s still caught on its body!¡±


    Whether it was cooking or cleaning, Adrian who would always be shooed away whenever he tried to help could only glare at the rabbit. Zhong Yan was going to leave soon. When he does, he¡¯s going to pluck this rabbit bald and turn it into a fur blanket.

 Chapter 73 - Hot-Blooded Universities

    There was only half a month to go before the official implementation of the ¡°Honor Decree¡±, and Zhong Yan has decided to return to the Capital before then. In the days he spent packing his luggage, both real-life society and the virtual community was in a mess. Every entrance of Lebor¡¯s borders had long lines of private spacecrafts waiting to enter. The Navi Military Command had to double the troops in Lebor to prevent any problems from rising up in this mess.


    Naturally, when the voices of opposition emerges in the implementation of new laws, there are going to be supporters as well. Only this time, the only people who can truly support the new law were all people who either held rights or those who could find benefit in the decree. Otherwise, they would be the extremely conservative who have their mind set on the AI. Unfortunately, the number of these groups were not large. Zhong Yan found that he barely needed to put any effort to control the public¡¯s opinion.


    From the second day on, protests began to start in various places. On the third day, the Supreme Institution finally spoke up. They announced on their homepage that the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution will never allow their graduates only two choices of only accepting their proposals, or going to jail. With immediate effect, all faculty and students will go on strike. The day of the ¡°Honor Decree¡¯s¡± implementation will be the day they announced their official merger with the Navi System.


    This was definitely a serious threat. It caused a great uproar as soon as it was issued. However, no matter how resounding the Supreme Institution¡¯s name was, it was still just one school. But in the following minutes, the top universities in each star system issued similar noticed. It did not take very long for more than half of the top 100 universities within the Federation to issue strikes and statements about leaving the Capital government¡¯s jurisdiction.


    The entire world was broiling in chaos. Mankind has kept peace and prosperity going on for so long that there was no need to mentioning anyone currently living having not experienced such turbulence in the past, they had never even heard of such happenings. Not even from their own seniors. These were things they would only hear their teachers mention in history class when they talked about the distant wars in ancient history. Everyone thought that it was such a faraway thing, and only ever related to their coming exams.


    Intron walked down the hallways of the Supreme Council¡¯s main building in a hurry.


    In these past two days, everyone in the Supreme Council had been flooded with work. However, the atmosphere was strange. The new ¡°Honor Decree¡± announced by ¡°Butterfly¡± turned the Supreme Council into a target for public criticism, and two of the Twelve had also clarified their stance on the ¡°Honor Decree¡±, even going as far as issuing blatant accusations against the AI. There was no need to mention the people, even the members within the council working inside this building couldn¡¯t help secretly whispering to each other, and watching the scene unfold with their own different opinions.


    ¡°Councilor Gines, heading off?¡±


    Just as Intron was about to leave through the front door, he bumped into Bard Pearson and his two bodyguards who had just returned to the council house from outside. He was already seventy this year but he still looked hale and hearty. He had a humble-looking square face, but his small slanted eyes added a bit of fierceness to it.


    ¡°Councilor Zhong Yan is away and his no.1 assistant seems rather free. You¡¯re getting off this early?¡± Pearson had on a shallow smile as he spoke and the way he said that hinted at his superiority complex, which felt very unpleasant.


    Normally, when you¡¯re only dealing with paperwork, you¡¯d rarely have to come around personally to hand in the documents. What¡¯s more, with the recent addition of the frequent protests, everyone was busy working overtime or going to meetings. Ths building would constantly be brightly lit even though the nights. Moreover, it¡¯s a sunny afternoon right now, so there was practically nobody in the lobby.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m free,¡± Intron said matter-of-factly. ¡°Isn¡¯t everyone on overtime working on the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯? Sir Zhong has already issued a statement that he has nothing to do with this new law. I¡¯m his assistant, so how would I have any overtime?¡±


    To think that this bespectacled young man with short curls could face Pearson without any fear. It is truly as they say, young calves fear no tigers. Even Pearson¡¯s two bodyguards couldn¡¯t help but throw a glance at him.


    Pearson had only seen him as Zhong Yan¡¯s assistant prior to this and wanted to take a jab at him, but he never expected to get a comeback from this youngster who had graduated just a few years ago, and so calmly at that. However, if he were to bicker with this blonde brat right in front of the council house with his standing, that would be too unsightly. He observed Intron fiercely for a moment before spitting out the words ¡°You¡¯ve really learned from Councilor Zhong Yan¡± and left proudly with his men.


    Intron rolled his eyes at him and walked out of the council house.


    While on the road, his terminal suddenly rang. He cut off the connection until he reached home before connecting the shielding device to his terminal. Then, he dialed back the number that could not be displayed.


    Intron had just greeted him with ¡°Sir Zhong¡± when the other side cut straight to the point. ¡°Who told them to leave the Capital¡¯s jurisdiction? Didn¡¯t our lecturer get the plans from the store?¡±


    ¡°He did. The lecturer brought up your plans as his own, but¡­¡± Intron knew Zhong Yan was going to ask him this. He was put into a difficult position, but he still had to explain. ¡°They, the professors, the student union, and the leaders and student leaders have all thought that your plan was too¡­prudent.¡±


    ¡°Too prudent?¡± Zhong Yan scoffed. ¡°We have to be prudent if we want to keep our skins! They want to transfer over to Navi just as soon as the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ is implemented? I¡¯ll give them props for having that idea! Let¡¯s not mention the other schools, even the Institution Star alone is separated 6 entire star systems away from Navi! How are they going to handle things if the Capital wouldn¡¯t compromise no matter what? Do they really think that the Capital¡¯s attitude will be the same as they are towards Lebor who¡¯s just at the border of Navi? Who is the current Student Council President in the Supreme Institution? He can¡¯t even think about the consequences of his actions, how did he become¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan rarely ever spoke in such a harsh tone. Intron knew that he was only worried that if the Supreme Council takes the lead in these radical protests, that the Capital will only try to use even more radical tactics against them. Therefore, he had prepared a sufficiently smooth plan ahead of time that made sure they could easily pull out whenever they needed to. But these hot-blooded youngsters wouldn¡¯t look quite so far ahead as Zhong Yan did. For them, they were struggling for themselves, their school, and the freedom and dignity of all of humanity. They will regret none of this even in death. This is the passion and spirit of youth.


    Intron had been working for Zhong Yan for nearly two years. He understood Zhong Yan¡¯s concerns very well, but he was also a young man who had just left school for just a few years and devoted himself to the resistance movement. So, he could fully understand why the students made this decision. He could only listen to Zhong Yan¡¯s rare bout of yelling with a bitter smile on his face. But before Zhong Yan could finish, he heard the voice of another man with a deeper voice interrupt him. ¡°Just talk business if you have to. What are you tearing up their Student Council President for?¡±


    Intron froze for a moment. What¡¯s this? Someone¡¯s beside Zhong Yan? But before he could react to who that familiar voice belonged to, he heard Zhong Yan turn the muzzle at the man and asking, ¡°What, do you admire that Student Council President so much?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± that man quickly denied. A hint of amusement could be heard in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have any special complexes for the Student Council President. But love a man, love his house too¡­right?¡±


    Only then did Intron realize that the owner of the voice was Adrian. That made sense. Intron glanced over to the clock. It was already late at night in Navi. It¡¯s normal for Zhong Yan to be with his partner¡­


    ¡­As if! How many people in the Federation actually believes that Adrian Yate and Zhong Yan actually sleep together at night? Even Intron himself believes that they had only come to some kind of mutual cooperation agreement at most. After all, the two of them have been clean after staying under the same roof for three whole years. And they had been kicking up a fuss with each other for so many years too. Not to mention, Intron has been fully committed to the anti-AI camp since his days as a student. Naturally, he held deep admiration for the poster boy Adrian and knew about his personality to some extent. Intron believed that he was a good judge of people. It¡¯s not very likely that someone with Adrian¡¯s personality would like someone as proud as Zhong Yan¡ªOf course, Intron has no idea that Zhong Yan was the very opposite of proud when he was with Adrian.


    But the fact is that the two of them were still together at this hour. Then there was only one possibility¡­


    ¡°Are you spending the whole night discussing the countermeasures with Commander Yate?¡± Intron asked, feeling touched.


    ¡°Discussing for the whole night?¡± Zhong Yan was confused to hear him mention this and felt that something was not quite right with that sentence. ¡°Indeed, we were talking about that just now¡­That counts, right?¡±


    Adrian asked cheerfully, ¡°What counts?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt,¡± said Zhong Yan helplessly.


    Intron suddenly felt that something was not quite right here. Adrian could only hear what Zhong Yan was saying, but not Intron. Zhong Yan obviously wasn¡¯t such an open person, meaning that Zhong Yan had to keep the terminal¡¯s speaker by his ear. Even though the terminal could receive audio inputs from all around, you could still hear a difference in distance even if two people were sitting shoulder to shoulder. But why did Adrian¡¯s voice sound¡­so close?


    ¡°Intron,¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice dragged Intron back from his thoughts. Adrian had interrupted them twice, but Zhong Yan seemed calm. ¡°Keep a close eye on the Supreme Council, see if they have any signs of conceding to the schools. If they still haven¡¯t done so by tomorrow, then contact Vahl. Tell him to bring up a delay¡­No, I¡¯ll do it myself. I¡¯ll bring up the idea of postponing the decree. Tell them to prepare the first draft tonight, and send it to me tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir Zhong.¡±


    Zhong Yan hung up the call. Adrian had been holding him in his embrace this whole time, so he relaxed his body and leaned back on Adrian¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Can we sleep yet? I¡¯m dead tired.¡± Adrian moved his head down and spoke by Zhong Yan¡¯s ear. When he spoke, his lips rubbed against Zhong Yan¡¯s ears, causing the sensitive Zhong Yan to flinch in his arms.


    ¡°I said I¡¯d make the call in the study so you could sleep, but you said no.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, I can¡¯t fall asleep if I¡¯m not holding you.¡±


    Zhong Yan knew that he was worried he would catch a cold in the night away from the warm blanket and that he was just fawning over him with his words, but he felt sweet inside. Then, his quiet voice began, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to leave early with all this going on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Adrian could hear the reluctance in his voice. He comforted him, ¡°We have to be separated for a short while now, but it¡¯s all so we can stay together for the long-term after.¡±


    But they did not expect that the only one to leave temporarily would not just be Zhong Yan on the next day.


    Before Zhong Yan¡¯s proposal to postpone the ¡°Honor Decree¡± could be edited, he received a secret report stating that the Capital has decided to use force to suppress the protests in the universities.

 Chapter 74 - Fateful Battle

    ¡°One of our informants in the Glory Military Command took the risk to send this to us,¡± Zhong Yan quickly spoke into the terminal. ¡°I passed the picture to you. It¡¯s in¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw it.¡± Adrian was walking in the Headquarter¡¯s hallway in a quick stride. Without hanging up the call, he went straight into the meeting room and continued to ask, ¡°The current question is, is the military command of Glory the only one that has received this notice, or all of them?¡±


    All the officers at the table stopped talking. They received an emergency call from Adrian to gather, but they didn¡¯t know what the reason was. At this moment, when they heard Adrian talking to some unknown person, they were all listening closely.


    Zhong Yan spoke, sounding battered, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I¡¯ve already told all my contacts to check, but it¡¯s mainly because the military commands and the council houses are two separate institutions, so I can only rely on my men within the military commands. But I don¡¯t have many of those¡­The Glory System isn¡¯t situated in a very important position. The rankings of the two universities participating in the joint protest in the Glory System are also relatively low in the rankings. There¡¯s nothing special about it, so it¡¯s reasonable to speculate that all military commands have received the orders.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. I¡¯ll settle this meeting first. You go quickly pack up your language, and help me take out my emergency travel case too. It¡¯s at the bottom of the closet. Remember to check all the doors and windows, you might not have the time later.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not ask why. If the capital has already decided to use force to suppress the protests, then there¡¯s no way Adrian would just stand idly by, not would he try to persuade him not to under such circumstances. Adrian had originally said he wanted to have dinner together with Zhong Yan tonight after coming home from work before sending him off in his ship, but it seems now that Zhong Yan may be rushing straight out as soon as he returns.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll keep in touch.¡± Zhong Yan said simply and hung up the call.


    All the officers thought that Adrian was talking to someone from the intelligence department, all of them looked at each other when he told the other person to check the doors and windows at the back. They all realized that it was Zhong Yan.


    When Adrian introduced the secret report he had just received to all the senior officers in the room, everyone was shocked.


    ¡°So the Capital has finally decided to use force?¡± One officer said, ¡°That¡¯s not right¡­The Capital¡¯s council house has no military rights. Only ¡®Butterfly¡¯ has the rights to mobilize the troops. Seems like it really has gone mad.¡±


    Another officer spoke up calmly and objectively, ¡°It will not necessarily have a bad effect. It¡¯s been centuries. For ordinary civilians, besides troops being sent out for rescue missions during major natural disasters, the only significance of the military commands¡¯ existence is just as a precaution to other cosmic civilizations that nobody knows exist or not. The people have already forgotten that those weapons can also be used against mankind. The use of military force to suppress the people of our generation is a huge threat. Many people will be throw down their banners just because of this.¡±


    ¡°Who says the council has no say on the military commands? The supreme commanders of each military command only go to see ¡®Butterfly¡¯ once a year¡ªour own supreme commander hasn¡¯t even gone once¡ªwhile those radical representative members can work in ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ office every single day. Who knows whose idea it was? Anyway, the AI has no differences with any other normal human these days, right? I don¡¯t even know if this is an evolution or degradation.¡±


    ¡°So, should we assemble our troops and head to Glory?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll make it. As soon as we have a large-scale military forces sent out, the entire world will know. It will take the Glory Military Command¡¯s troops at least half an hour to arrive at the school after receiving the news, but we¡¯ll need at least four.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if their orders are to move against all the participating schools at once. If all the military commands have received the order, then it¡¯s impossible for us to split out troops all over the Federation, right?¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is,¡± Adrian said, ¡°if we can¡¯t make the first move since they¡¯re closer than us, we just have to go by force. Put out the order right now. Assemble the first to the third regiment, and tell the entire military command to hold standby.¡±


    Three officers sitting below sat up and saluted, ¡°Yes!¡±


    At this moment, the intelligence officer who had been nervously confirming the news from all sides suddenly said, ¡°Commander! We have received a message from that person. It has been confirmed that the second and third military commands have received similar orders. We can just about ascertain that all the military commands under ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ jurisdiction have received the order. That person also said¡­¡±


    Adrian frowned. ¡°What do you mean ¡®that person¡¯? Does he not have a name?¡±


    The intelligence officer had been reporting to him this way for the past two years. Now that the ban on that name has been lifted, he couldn¡¯t get used to it. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I mean Sir Zhong. Sir Zhong had also said that all military commands near the Capital have already gathered their troops. All news from a reliable source.¡±


    Adrian froze. A quick-tempered officer was first to speak. ¡°What is the Capital gathering their troops for? There aren¡¯t even any movements in the schools nearby the Capital.¡±


    ¡°The Supreme Institution does not belong to a star system. It is a directly administered planet,¡± Adrian spoke as if he were mumbling to himself, ¡°The Supreme Institution is the initiator, so they want to cut them up as an example for the rest.¡±


    Three hasty knocks sounded from the door. Under the state where they were prepared for battle, the orderly can meet the commander in chief directly without notification. The soldier entered and saluted. ¡°Commander, all troops in the first to the third regiments have been assembled!¡±


    Adrian quickly stood up and ordered, ¡°Tell them to pull out of the camp and standby at the border. Our goal is the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution.¡±


    As the roar of the small spacecraft¡¯s engine came closer, Zhong Yan had already packed up his luggage and waited by yard.


    Adrian and one of the guards jumped down from the vehicle that had yet to land. They took the suitcases in Zhong Yan¡¯s hands, and the last was Adrian¡¯s emergency luggage. He picked it up himself and found it heavier than he last remembered it. He couldn¡¯t help but give the trunk a few extra glances. Zhong Yan could tell his suspicion. He looked awkwardly at the guard beside him before explaining in a whisper, ¡°I packed you a few extra sets of clothes. You only have a thin coat inside. I was worried you¡¯d get cold.¡±


    He was afraid that Adrian Yate, the strongest human soldier that can fight in the most extreme environments would be afraid of the cold? The guard nearly fell down when he heard his words. He looed over in fright, just to see Adrian¡¯s sharp warning gaze, and immediately moved his sight away. Just lower your head and look away, just pretend you¡¯re both blind and deaf.


    ¡°Thank you dearest. You¡¯re right, I packed this luggage during the summer.¡± While saying that, Adrian and his guard loaded the luggage onto the ship. The giant space rabbit¡¯s food bowl was filled up, and the small rabbit had been entrusted to the steak shop¡¯s owner. At the very last, Zhong Yan opened his terminal to check whether all the switches in the home were turned off before boarding the spacecraft.


    Everything happened so suddenly that they didn¡¯t have time for sad goodbyes. Zhong Yan had immediately started asking about their next plans as soon as he sat down because he was going to return to the Capital, and Adrian was getting ready to lead his troops to the Institution Star. They were both going different ways.


    ¡°You can follow my fleet for now. Once we leave Lebor, there will be a ship that can take you to the Capital.¡± Adrian said, ¡°I picked out six men to go with you. They will be your temporary bodyguards.¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too eye-catching?¡±


    ¡°If that is how it has to be. Your safety is important.¡± Adrian went on, ¡°When it has all come to this, the Capital is now the most dangerous place you can be. The identities of those men are all based in Navi. AI has no control over them. They¡¯re the best picks if you think about it.¡±


    After exchanging what they knew of the current situation and reconfirming their respective follow-up plans, the ship had already docked in the warship. Adrian and Zhong Yan stepped off the vehicle side by side when someone immediately came to them. Adrian ordered, ¡°Bring Sir Zhong¡¯s luggage into the ship prepared for him. Notify the army to set off immediately for the Institution Star.¡±


    Zhong Yan was shocked, but he did not say anything in front of Adrian¡¯s subordinates. Once everyone had left, Zhong Yan hurriedly said, ¡°You¡¯re sending out your troops now? But the Capital¡¯s troops haven¡¯t even moved yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late when they move. The Capital is much closer to the Institution Star than we are.¡±


    ¡°Once you leave Lebor, the Capital won¡¯t be the only one receiving the message. The entire Federation will hear of it. You won¡¯t be able to hide this. Have you ever thought, just in case, that the Capital will pull back after hearing news of your arrival? They would rather sacrifice the Institution Star if it means being able to ruin your reputation. How are you going to explain to the world why you sent your troops to the Institution Star? Even if they did set their troops out, they can also say that they were just stopping you¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I just don¡¯t have to explain.¡± Adrian was calm. ¡°Compared to my reputation, the safety of the teachers and students in the Institution Star are more important to me.¡±


    Zhong Yan opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He just nodded and headed for the temporary waiting room.


    But for him to give up persuading him again took Adrian by surprise. He was also worried whether Zhong Yan was angry with him. But the army had just set sail, there was too much to worry about. He didn¡¯t have the time to ask Zhong Yan about his feelings, and headed straight to work.


    Two hours later, the ship going full speed ahead had already arrived at Lebor¡¯s border. After leaving Lebor, they will be exposed within ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring area. Then, there is no turning back. Whether they win or lose, this will be written down in the history books. Adrian Yate will become the very man to end peace after centuries of peace in the world of man.


    Adrian walked in the hallway of the warship in his black and gold military uniform. at this moment, all the soldiers in the fleet were concentrated in the great hall of the warship, waiting for him to appear and give his speech.


    He happened to bump into Zhong Yan right outside. Zhong Yan had already changed into a sleek formal suit, and without waiting for Adrian to speak, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be going now.¡±


    At the very last moment, Adrian couldn¡¯t think of anything to say. His heart churned, but in the end, he said, ¡°I wish you luck.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded and accepted his blessing before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve just contacted the Supreme Institution. They will be issuing a statement that will be posted in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°You¡­What statement?¡±


    ¡°The statement that the Institution Star is officially leaving the Capital and entering Navi, and requesting the Navi Military Command to send their troops over immediately.¡±


    Adrian was shocked in place. Zhong Yan looked at him and said firmly, ¡°I won¡¯t let your name be tarnished. Your name shouldn¡¯t be written down in the history books like that.¡±


    Turns out that was what he was busy with earlier¡­Adrian felt his throat bob and he couldn¡¯t hold back the emotions within his heart. He came closer and held Zhong Yan tightly in his arms. On the marching fleet, the Supreme Commander¡¯s behavior should be firm and serious. But the oath-taking rally has yet to begin. He still had a few moments to himself.


    After a few seconds, Zhong Yan gently pushed him away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be late. And you too.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was light.


    He carefully smoothed out the collar of Adrian¡¯s uniform before taking in the sight of his silver eyes. He said solemnly, ¡°Commander Yate, I too wish you a fateful battle.¡±


    ¡°One of our informants in the Glory Military Command took the risk to send this to us,¡± Zhong Yan quickly spoke into the terminal. ¡°I passed the picture to you. It¡¯s in¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw it.¡± Adrian was walking in the Headquarter¡¯s hallway in a quick stride. Without hanging up the call, he went straight into the meeting room and continued to ask, ¡°The current question is, is the military command of Glory the only one that has received this notice, or all of them?¡±


    All the officers at the table stopped talking. They received an emergency call from Adrian to gather, but they didn¡¯t know what the reason was. At this moment, when they heard Adrian talking to some unknown person, they were all listening closely.


    Zhong Yan spoke, sounding battered, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I¡¯ve already told all my contacts to check, but it¡¯s mainly because the military commands and the council houses are two separate institutions, so I can only rely on my men within the military commands. But I don¡¯t have many of those¡­The Glory System isn¡¯t situated in a very important position. The rankings of the two universities participating in the joint protest in the Glory System are also relatively low in the rankings. There¡¯s nothing special about it, so it¡¯s reasonable to speculate that all military commands have received the orders.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. I¡¯ll settle this meeting first. You go quickly pack up your language, and help me take out my emergency travel case too. It¡¯s at the bottom of the closet. Remember to check all the doors and windows, you might not have the time later.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not ask why. If the capital has already decided to use force to suppress the protests, then there¡¯s no way Adrian would just stand idly by, not would he try to persuade him not to under such circumstances. Adrian had originally said he wanted to have dinner together with Zhong Yan tonight after coming home from work before sending him off in his ship, but it seems now that Zhong Yan may be rushing straight out as soon as he returns.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll keep in touch.¡± Zhong Yan said simply and hung up the call.


    All the officers thought that Adrian was talking to someone from the intelligence department, all of them looked at each other when he told the other person to check the doors and windows at the back. They all realized that it was Zhong Yan.


    When Adrian introduced the secret report he had just received to all the senior officers in the room, everyone was shocked.


    ¡°So the Capital has finally decided to use force?¡± One officer said, ¡°That¡¯s not right¡­The Capital¡¯s council house has no military rights. Only ¡®Butterfly¡¯ has the rights to mobilize the troops. Seems like it really has gone mad.¡±


    Another officer spoke up calmly and objectively, ¡°It will not necessarily have a bad effect. It¡¯s been centuries. For ordinary civilians, besides troops being sent out for rescue missions during major natural disasters, the only significance of the military commands¡¯ existence is just as a precaution to other cosmic civilizations that nobody knows exist or not. The people have already forgotten that those weapons can also be used against mankind. The use of military force to suppress the people of our generation is a huge threat. Many people will be throw down their banners just because of this.¡±


    ¡°Who says the council has no say on the military commands? The supreme commanders of each military command only go to see ¡®Butterfly¡¯ once a year¡ªour own supreme commander hasn¡¯t even gone once¡ªwhile those radical representative members can work in ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ office every single day. Who knows whose idea it was? Anyway, the AI has no differences with any other normal human these days, right? I don¡¯t even know if this is an evolution or degradation.¡±


    ¡°So, should we assemble our troops and head to Glory?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll make it. As soon as we have a large-scale military forces sent out, the entire world will know. It will take the Glory Military Command¡¯s troops at least half an hour to arrive at the school after receiving the news, but we¡¯ll need at least four.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if their orders are to move against all the participating schools at once. If all the military commands have received the order, then it¡¯s impossible for us to split out troops all over the Federation, right?¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is,¡± Adrian said, ¡°if we can¡¯t make the first move since they¡¯re closer than us, we just have to go by force. Put out the order right now. Assemble the first to the third regiment, and tell the entire military command to hold standby.¡±


    Three officers sitting below sat up and saluted, ¡°Yes!¡±


    At this moment, the intelligence officer who had been nervously confirming the news from all sides suddenly said, ¡°Commander! We have received a message from that person. It has been confirmed that the second and third military commands have received similar orders. We can just about ascertain that all the military commands under ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ jurisdiction have received the order. That person also said¡­¡±


    Adrian frowned. ¡°What do you mean ¡®that person¡¯? Does he not have a name?¡±


    The intelligence officer had been reporting to him this way for the past two years. Now that the ban on that name has been lifted, he couldn¡¯t get used to it. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I mean Sir Zhong. Sir Zhong had also said that all military commands near the Capital have already gathered their troops. All news from a reliable source.¡±


    Adrian froze. A quick-tempered officer was first to speak. ¡°What is the Capital gathering their troops for? There aren¡¯t even any movements in the schools nearby the Capital.¡±


    ¡°The Supreme Institution does not belong to a star system. It is a directly administered planet,¡± Adrian spoke as if he were mumbling to himself, ¡°The Supreme Institution is the initiator, so they want to cut them up as an example for the rest.¡±


    Three hasty knocks sounded from the door. Under the state where they were prepared for battle, the orderly can meet the commander in chief directly without notification. The soldier entered and saluted. ¡°Commander, all troops in the first to the third regiments have been assembled!¡±


    Adrian quickly stood up and ordered, ¡°Tell them to pull out of the camp and standby at the border. Our goal is the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution.¡±


    As the roar of the small spacecraft¡¯s engine came closer, Zhong Yan had already packed up his luggage and waited by yard.


    Adrian and one of the guards jumped down from the vehicle that had yet to land. They took the suitcases in Zhong Yan¡¯s hands, and the last was Adrian¡¯s emergency luggage. He picked it up himself and found it heavier than he last remembered it. He couldn¡¯t help but give the trunk a few extra glances. Zhong Yan could tell his suspicion. He looked awkwardly at the guard beside him before explaining in a whisper, ¡°I packed you a few extra sets of clothes. You only have a thin coat inside. I was worried you¡¯d get cold.¡±


    He was afraid that Adrian Yate, the strongest human soldier that can fight in the most extreme environments would be afraid of the cold? The guard nearly fell down when he heard his words. He looed over in fright, just to see Adrian¡¯s sharp warning gaze, and immediately moved his sight away. Just lower your head and look away, just pretend you¡¯re both blind and deaf.


    ¡°Thank you dearest. You¡¯re right, I packed this luggage during the summer.¡± While saying that, Adrian and his guard loaded the luggage onto the ship. The giant space rabbit¡¯s food bowl was filled up, and the small rabbit had been entrusted to the steak shop¡¯s owner. At the very last, Zhong Yan opened his terminal to check whether all the switches in the home were turned off before boarding the spacecraft.


    Everything happened so suddenly that they didn¡¯t have time for sad goodbyes. Zhong Yan had immediately started asking about their next plans as soon as he sat down because he was going to return to the Capital, and Adrian was getting ready to lead his troops to the Institution Star. They were both going different ways.


    ¡°You can follow my fleet for now. Once we leave Lebor, there will be a ship that can take you to the Capital.¡± Adrian said, ¡°I picked out six men to go with you. They will be your temporary bodyguards.¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too eye-catching?¡±


    ¡°If that is how it has to be. Your safety is important.¡± Adrian went on, ¡°When it has all come to this, the Capital is now the most dangerous place you can be. The identities of those men are all based in Navi. AI has no control over them. They¡¯re the best picks if you think about it.¡±


    After exchanging what they knew of the current situation and reconfirming their respective follow-up plans, the ship had already docked in the warship. Adrian and Zhong Yan stepped off the vehicle side by side when someone immediately came to them. Adrian ordered, ¡°Bring Sir Zhong¡¯s luggage into the ship prepared for him. Notify the army to set off immediately for the Institution Star.¡±


    Zhong Yan was shocked, but he did not say anything in front of Adrian¡¯s subordinates. Once everyone had left, Zhong Yan hurriedly said, ¡°You¡¯re sending out your troops now? But the Capital¡¯s troops haven¡¯t even moved yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late when they move. The Capital is much closer to the Institution Star than we are.¡±


    ¡°Once you leave Lebor, the Capital won¡¯t be the only one receiving the message. The entire Federation will hear of it. You won¡¯t be able to hide this. Have you ever thought, just in case, that the Capital will pull back after hearing news of your arrival? They would rather sacrifice the Institution Star if it means being able to ruin your reputation. How are you going to explain to the world why you sent your troops to the Institution Star? Even if they did set their troops out, they can also say that they were just stopping you¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I just don¡¯t have to explain.¡± Adrian was calm. ¡°Compared to my reputation, the safety of the teachers and students in the Institution Star are more important to me.¡±


    Zhong Yan opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He just nodded and headed for the temporary waiting room.


    But for him to give up persuading him again took Adrian by surprise. He was also worried whether Zhong Yan was angry with him. But the army had just set sail, there was too much to worry about. He didn¡¯t have the time to ask Zhong Yan about his feelings, and headed straight to work.


    Two hours later, the ship going full speed ahead had already arrived at Lebor¡¯s border. After leaving Lebor, they will be exposed within ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring area. Then, there is no turning back. Whether they win or lose, this will be written down in the history books. Adrian Yate will become the very man to end peace after centuries of peace in the world of man.


    Adrian walked in the hallway of the warship in his black and gold military uniform. at this moment, all the soldiers in the fleet were concentrated in the great hall of the warship, waiting for him to appear and give his speech.


    He happened to bump into Zhong Yan right outside. Zhong Yan had already changed into a sleek formal suit, and without waiting for Adrian to speak, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be going now.¡±


    At the very last moment, Adrian couldn¡¯t think of anything to say. His heart churned, but in the end, he said, ¡°I wish you luck.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded and accepted his blessing before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve just contacted the Supreme Institution. They will be issuing a statement that will be posted in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°You¡­What statement?¡±


    ¡°The statement that the Institution Star is officially leaving the Capital and entering Navi, and requesting the Navi Military Command to send their troops over immediately.¡±


    Adrian was shocked in place. Zhong Yan looked at him and said firmly, ¡°I won¡¯t let your name be tarnished. Your name shouldn¡¯t be written down in the history books like that.¡±


    Turns out that was what he was busy with earlier¡­Adrian felt his throat bob and he couldn¡¯t hold back the emotions within his heart. He came closer and held Zhong Yan tightly in his arms. On the marching fleet, the Supreme Commander¡¯s behavior should be firm and serious. But the oath-taking rally has yet to begin. He still had a few moments to himself.


    After a few seconds, Zhong Yan gently pushed him away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be late. And you too.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was light.


    He carefully smoothed out the collar of Adrian¡¯s uniform before taking in the sight of his silver eyes. He said solemnly, ¡°Commander Yate, I too wish you a fateful battle.¡±

 Chapter 75 - Letter to My Friends

    As mankind¡¯s first artificially created planet, the Supreme Institution situated at the Institution Star has been famous since its establishment, but in the eyes of most of the public, the institution had little to do with themselves even if it represented a group of the most intelligent and capable students at the tip of the pyramid. Just take what happened for example. If Adrian and Zhong Yan had not been reunited after seven years, then people would hardly pay attention to the school¡¯s hundred year anniversary. It wasn¡¯t until the Supreme Institution took the lead to protest the new law that was making waves across the world that people started to pay attention to them again. In just a short few hours, the follower count on the Supreme Institution¡¯s page skyrocketed. Even the other universities participating in the joint protest saw the views on their pages multiplying several times over.


    Everyone was waiting to see if the Capital was willing to compromise with these schools and to see whether the ¡°Honor Decree¡± will still be implemented early next month as scheduled. Unexpectedly, just a day after the joint protests, the Supreme Institution suddenly issued another statement.


    The previous statement was just a series of words posted on their page, but this new statement was a scan of a notice written in proper format, announcing that the Supreme Institution will immediately break away from the AI¡¯s rule in order to respond to emergencies and protect the safety of all the personnel and students in the school. They have also requested a garrison from Navi for their protection. Right at the bottom of the notice was the red seal used by the school board and the student council. Even though most official notices and letters in this era were attached with electronic signatures, only a few groups of people still used the seal. But the Supreme Institution has always gone with tradition. Even under such circumstances, their official notice was still written in their own distinguished style.


    But hasn¡¯t the ¡°Honor Decree¡± not been released yet? The Supreme Institution is leaving the Capital just like that? And what kind of emergencies are they facing that can threaten the safety of the school personnel?


    Before everyone could take a breather after seeing such a thunderous statement, an even more explosive piece of news swept through the news headlines: the Navi Military Command has sent out their troops.


    The mighty roar of the engines sounded as the warship left Leboor¡¯s borders. Through their entire trip, they had no intentions whatsoever to conceal their movements, and they were going on a straight route to ensure they arrived as soon as possible.


    After just a few minutes, the warships not far from the Capital¡¯s affiliated military command came out of its nest and headed straight for the Institution Star as well.


    Are they going to fight?!


    The virtual community has nearly turned itself upside down. As long as people were awake, they would all be refreshing the news like crazy. Even the bosses can¡¯t be bothered to make sure their employees are working¡ªThey themselves are staring at the news, too.


    The Navi Military Command has responded to the Supreme Institution¡¯s call for ¡°help¡±. So, what did the Capital send out its troops for? They do not recognize that the Supreme Institution is out of the AI¡¯s jurisdiction, so they¡¯ve decided to send troops to stop the Navi Military Command, or¡­were they the reason that the Supreme Institution called the ¡°emergency¡±?


    Zhong Yan was currently on his way. He asked the cockpit to choose the route with as much signal uptime as possible, even if that meant going on a little detour. This was currently a crucial moment when he had to be receiving information on all parties and plan his next move.


    Originally, the distance between the Capital and the Supreme Institution should have been much closer than Navi, the Capital had sent out their troops just after Navi¡¯s troops have passed Lebor¡¯s borders. Moreover, even though the distance was slightly further, the Navi warship¡¯s route has fewer planets in their path, which means they can go full speed on a straight path without many detours. What¡¯s more, there were many bustling star systems between the Capital and the Institution Star, and the planets were so densely packed. They couldn¡¯t just go in a straight line, nor can they reach speeds as close to Navi¡¯s warship. It was still unknown which side would actually reach the Institution Star first.


    A moment later, the news Zhong Yan had been waiting this whole time finally came. He saw a message on his terminal from an unknown account that said, ¡°They have been retrieved, both are safe.¡±


    Zhong Yan breathed a sigh of relief.


    The two people they picked up were two officers who ¡°Specimen¡± has spent four entire years, and consumed countless resources to allow them to make their way up to the Capital¡¯s affiliated/auxiliary military command. They were precisely the ones who gave ¡°Specimen¡± a timely warning that the Capital¡¯s affiliated military command was gathering its troops so that Adrian was able to seize the opportunity to rush to the Institution Star before them.


    At this moment, the public opinion in the virtual community was practically all on Navi¡¯s side. Not for any other reason, but because the Navi Military Command was, first of all, sending out their troops to the Supreme Institution at their cry for help while not only did the Capital leave no explanations for sending their troops, they were even suspected to be the reason the Supreme Institution was calling for help in the first place. This had all happened because of the official notice issued by the Supreme Institution, but what the masses could not see was how enormous the cost they had paid out to issue this statement was.


    In the two hours they spent passing through Lebor Zhong Yan had personally contacted the Supreme Institution to inform them of the imminent danger and convinced them to draft this document. But for the Capital, the Supreme Institution putting out this announcement also tells them that someone within the affiliated military command has leaked military information and that the Supreme Institution had found out.


    If they go back to find the source of the leak now that this situation is exposed, there¡¯s a high probability they¡¯ll be able to find the spy. So, Zhong Yan later contacted the two officers urgently through ¡°Specimen¡¯s¡± internal channel and informed them of the danger that they will be exposed soon. He asked them to evacuate immediately and also arranged for their escape and pick-up.


    This so-called escape was only to protect their own physical selves. There was no way for them to return to the military command anymore. This means that the two spies Zhong Yan spent so much time and financial resources on will be useless from then on. The message chain on both sides will be completely broken.


    And he did all this just so he could make sure that Adrian¡¯s reputation in the future could be saved.


    The abnormal silence shown by the Capital¡¯s affiliated military command was precisely because they found out about the leak. Moreover, from the speed it took Navi¡¯s troops to leave Navi, the Supreme Institution must have properly communicated with the Navi Military Command before issuing their statement. If they categorize the Navi Military Command¡¯s actions now as illegally occupying a Federation owned planet, and that they are only sending troops to stop their behavior, then the Navi Military Command is likely to reveal ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± suppression order and the fact that they have gathered their troops since long ago. When that time comes, they¡¯re going to receive backlash from lying anyway, so they might as well not make that lie to begin with.


    Furthermore¡­This matter can hardly be concealed at all. Because soon enough, all of the Federation¡¯s military commands will be moving out.


    In the very beginning, when the news of a star system¡¯s troops having assembled was leaked out, everyone thought that ¡°Butterfly¡± was ordering them to intercept Navi¡¯s warship en route.


    But nobody would ever have thought that they would go in the opposite direction instead. Their goal wasn¡¯t to stop Navi at all, they wanted to suppress the defenseless students within the Supreme Institution.


    Fully-armed soldiers marched out from the descending ship like a school of fish and stormed straight into the school campus. Countless reporters within the star system swarming the area were all stopped outside of the army¡¯s guard ring. Soon after, there were soldiers coming out of the school, holding boys and girls that looked like students under their arms. Some of them were still yelling and struggling, but others seemed to have lost consciousness and needed to be dragged away by the soldiers. It was not known whether they were dead or alive. This unexpected scene stimulated the reporters and onlookers at the scene, throwing them all completely mad. Everyone was shocked and furious but with the weapons as deterrence, nobody dared to try and push through the circle. However, the many floating cameras could¡ªthere were some conscientious reporters who hoped to expose the scenes within, and also those who wanted to the big news for their platform. At this instant, all the reporters had ignored all the warnings and sent their camera drones rushing into the campus.


    When the soldiers saw those little black balls floating in the sky, they shot them down immediately. Within the dense sound of gunfire, some unknown person shouted that ¡°The military command is opening fire! They¡¯re going to kill us!¡±, and the already complicated situation became even more chaotic in and out of the campus. For a moment, yelling, screaming, and gun sounds were mixed together while the slogan of the captured students could occasionally be heard. ¡°Overthrow artificial intelligence! Restore human autonomy!¡±


    These extremely chaotic fragments had been broadcasted within the virtual community and everything began bubbling up intensely. At the same time, images of the armies in several military commands gathering have also been uploaded.


    The entire virtual community was overwhelmed by shock and anger. Some of the people had also quietly shut their mouths because of this, and deleted all their comments for protest¡ªfear is also a normal part of being human.


    Zhong Yan sat in the studio of the small spacecraft, reading the news. His face looked neither sad nor happy.


    He was not shocked or angry either, he was only contemplating the pros and cons of each move. His private team ad just drafted a plan to use a student¡¯s life as the breakthrough in this deadlock. Frowning, Zhong Yan hesitated. The notification bell of his terminal sounded. When he looked at it, he found that a page that he was following had updated.


    There was only one person in Zhong Yan¡¯s high-priority follow list, and his mind also felt refreshed because of this. Opening his terminal, it was Adrian issuing a letter titled, ¡°A Letter to My Friends Throughout the Federation¡¯s Military Commands¡±.


    He spoke directly to the supreme commanders of each military command and urged them not to obey the orders of a non-ethical machine blindly and hurt their fellow citizens. At the very end of his letter, he wrote, ¡°Before executing a military order, we should respond to the situation as humans. Solders who point their gun towards the innocent are not worthy of being called humans. Starting immediately from now, I will send troops to all military commands who are moving out to the schoolsÒ»I will clear you all out and put an end to this chapter once and for all. I, Adrian Yate, is marching out with my troops.¡±


    After reading this letter, Zhong Yan couldn¡¯t help but put on a bitter smile. This was the script prepared for Adrian by him. The motivational force within those words were very strong, but the wording was also cautious. This was because he believed that this letter will definitely be recorded in history in Adrian¡¯s name. So, he would never write anything about anyone not deserving to be called humans, or to end things once and for all; all that at the end was written by Adrian himself. It seems like this whole affair really has angered him.


    This anger felt so real that those emotions were even more infectious than the first half that had already gone through retouching and refinement. After seeing this message on their virtual screens, many people were also moved and inspired by it.


    Zhong Yan stared blankly at the screen in front of him for a while. Then, he sent a message to his own team, ¡°Dispose of that idea. Do not prepare any similar plans in the future.¡±


    He didn¡¯t love this world, nor his fellow compatriots. But helplessly, he loved everything about Adrian. He could only restrain himself at every moment, incase he loses the only person he loves in this entire world.

 Chapter 76 - Lucky Charm

    Adrian had personally led his troops on a military expedition while Fayn stayed in Navi¡¯s base camp within the system. At the same time that Adrian¡¯s letter was released, two men contacted him through the military channel.


    ¡°Should we send troops?¡± Fayn began to speak before Adrian could say anything. ¡°The entire army is ready on standby. About half of the remaining force has been sent over to Lebor¡¯s border. They¡¯re just waiting on your order.¡±


    ¡°What about the twelfth regiment?¡± Adrian asked.


    Fayn froze. He did not expect Adrian to mention all the way to the twelfth regiment. That was their heavy weapons corps, and you could say that almost a quarter of all their military expenses were invested into that regiment. The twelfth regiment was definitely one of their most powerful regiments within the entire Navi Military Command, and they were also the ones who normally guarded the Navi System. They rarely ever made a move.


    ¡°They are also on standby within our military command, not in Lebor,¡± Fayn explained.


    ¡°Bring the twelfth regiment into the frontline expedition group that¡¯s preparing to head out,¡± Adrian ordered. ¡°Tell them to set off immediately as soon as they¡¯ve gathered. First, go to the star system where the protesting schools have already been suppressed. Speed is not a priority. Just go along the most crowded route and make sure the media has a good shot of our fleet.¡±


    Fayn had been fighting side by side with Adrian for so many years that they¡¯ve already long built up a tacit understanding. He had fully understood his meaning and nodded. ¡°Yes, Commander.¡±


    Adrian explained some of the details of the operation while Fayn acknowledged all of them. Then, he quickly hung up the call and began to arrange it.


    ¡°How long left till we leave this signal zone?¡± Adrian asked.


    The soldier next to him searched up the information on the screen in front of him and responded, ¡°At our current speed, sixteen minutes.¡±


    There was still time. Adrian nodded and returned to his own room. Then, he dialed Zhong Yan¡¯s number.


    As soon as the call connected, Zhong Yan asked, ¡°Ade? Is everything done on your end?¡±


    Zhong Yan had taken a detour to reach a signal zone, so he definitely must have seen the letter and knew that Adrian was also currently in a signal zone. But even then, he did not take the initiative to contact him. He had no experience in military expeditions, but he still knew that Adrian had to contact the base camp during this time.


    Adrian felt like his heart had just been stabbed. Zhong Yan¡¯s voice when he asked that question was devoid of any blame or sarcasm. He asked him that question with a gentle tone as if he was asking him whether he had eaten lunch. As if it was only a matter of course, he had pushed himself down to second place just for him.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s life till now had been devoid of love and kindness. He met the very first person who was willing to be his friend a the age of seventeen, and so he regarded that person as his entire world¡ªAdrian often felt that Zhong Yan did not have the same feelings for him as any normal partner. He wasn¡¯t doubting Zhong Yan¡¯s love for him. In fact, it was the opposite. The love that should have belonged to his family, his friends, and his love, and even the love for man, his own kind. Zhong Yan gave that all to him.


    Adrian still remembered how he felt when he heard that he and Zhong Yan were matched. He could hardly control his temper in public, but when he lied to Zhong Yan about having a partner and received no special response for him, Adrian suddenly felt a dull throbbing pain side of him, getting stuck in his throat, and making him speechless. He knew he was not a tolerant person, but he would still tolerate everything about Adrian.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When Zhong Yan waited for a few seconds but received no answer, he began to feel a little panicked. ¡°Did something bad happen? Are you unsuccessful on your side?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. But¡­¡± Adrian covered his face and sat down on the bed in his room. In a quiet whisper, he said, ¡°I miss you so much.¡±


    Zhong Yan had also lost his voice all of a sudden. After a short moment, he responded in an even softer tone. ¡°We¡¯ve only just separated for a few hours.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t take long. Once everything is over, we¡¯ll be able to see each other again.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°For many, many long years to come, we will always be together. Always and forever.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± Adrian said. He never knew that the feeling of missing someone could be so strong. ¡°But I still miss you a lot. I regret not holding you for a while longer before you left. How could I have just let you go? Even a few more seconds would¡¯ve been good.¡±


    In a place where Adrian could not see, Zhong Yan was sitting in the flying spacecraft all the way on the other side of the universe, and the tips of his ears have slightly gone red. He could hear how dispirited Adrian was and it made his heart hurt. But uncontrollably, he also felt a little¡­happy.


    He is being so sad right now, how could you be happy! Zhong Yan scolded himself lightly. After thinking about it, he asked, ¡°Have you opened your suitcase yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Why?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­Not yet? Then, forget it¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll open it now.¡± While saying that, Adrian opened his luggage with his one free hand. The first thing that entered his sight was a snow-white ball on top of the clothes Zhong Yan had stuffed into his suitcase.


    Adrian picked up the fist-sized round fuzzy-looking object just to find a rope hanging off from it. This seems to be a charm. While observing the ball, he asked Zhong Yan, ¡°What¡¯s this? The white ball thing.¡±


    ¡°I thought you¡¯ve already opened your luggage and seen it.¡± Adrian felt a little embarrassed. Having Adrian opening up his suitcase to see it just after he said that made him feel like a child asking for encouragement. He said bashfully, ¡°It¡¯s a lucky felt charm I made for you. You know how they say that a rabbit¡¯s foot can bring good luck in the ancient legends? I purposely collected the fur on our giant space rabbit¡¯s foot and made this. I¡¯m not too good at it, so it¡¯s a bit ugly¡­¡±


    Adrian quickly said, ¡°What do you mean ugly? Nobody is allowed to say that what you make is ugly! Look at how nice this round ball is! I¡¯ll definitely keep it on me every single day.¡±


    If Zhong Yan found out now that what he meant was to wear it around his neck, instead of just keeping it on his person, then he would definitely stop him. Unfortunately, he thought that Adrian meant he was just going to keep it in his pocket, so he allowed it. By the time he realized his misunderstanding, it was already too late. The entire Navi Military Command has already found out that ¡°The Commander¡¯s wife made a felt charm for the Commander to wear out of the fur on the rabbit¡¯s foot before the Commander went out for battle.¡± And, so as not to be outdone, the partners of the other soldiers also made felt charms for their lovers to hang on their uniforms, and this would become a popular trend among the officers of the Navi Military Command for some years after that. However, that all happened in the future.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a ball, it¡¯s a rabbit tail,¡± Zhong Yan explained embarrassedly. ¡°I wanted to make a rabbit¡¯s head, but it was too difficult. Time was short, and I¡¯m just a begginer, so I just made a rabbit¡¯s tail.¡±


    Adrian looked at the fuzzy round ball in his hand. You could still see some fur sticking out of some spots. You could hardly tell what the ball was supposed to be at all. He gave up on the idea of looking for things to compliment in the actual object and began pulling his compliments out of thin air. ¡°Wow, this looks the same as tail of our rabbit back at home! Is this your first try? It looks so good! I just knew you were a fast learner at everything!¡±


    Zhong Yan laughed when he heard that. ¡°I know what level I¡¯m at, I just got lucky with this one. You can stop flattering me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth!¡± Adrian vowed. ¡°He looked at the time and said, ¡°I¡¯m about to leave the signal zone. You have to be careful when you reach the Capital, alright?¡±


    ¡°I know. You too. I¡¯m also losing signal soon. We¡¯ll talk again later.¡±


    The call ended. Adrian used the last minute left of the signal to check what a felt charm was, and also what the legend about the rabbit¡¯s foot was. He played with the little white ball Zhong Yan had created with him prick after prick, cherishing it. He had wanted to hang it on his waist, but on second thought, it wasn¡¯t obvious enough. So, he simply hung it on his left breast pocket. However, now it seemed too obtrusive, so he put his military jacket on top to observe it. At the very end, he hung it on the bucket on his left breast pocket.


    Adrian brought three regiments with him this time. This was not too much out of their total force, but this was already the limit to ensure a speedy trip. Moreover, the first three regiments were the main elite troops to begin with. The two colonels of the first and third regiments were chatting in the war room when the door was suddenly pushed open.


    ¡°Commander!¡± When they saw Adrian come in, both of them stood up to salute him. Adrian greeted them back before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, sit down. You can continue your chat. I just came to ask¡­¡±


    He paused for a moment. He didn¡¯t think about what he was going to ask at all. After a few seconds, he went on unperturbed, ¡°I was just asking how long it¡¯ll take till we arrive.¡±


    Colonel of the first regiment, ¡°¡­¡±


    Colonel of the third regiment, ¡°¡­¡±


    Why didn¡¯t he ask the cockpit this instead? They¡¯re not even the ones responsible!


    Adrian approached them casually while standing with the left half of his body facing them. Navi¡¯s military uniform was black, so the white ball hanging from hs chest was extremely conspicuous. The colonel of the first regiment was already an old veteran so he was able to realize instinctively that things may not be as simple as they may seem. So, cautiously, he did not speak. The third regiment¡¯s colonel was a young man, so without even thinking, he asked, ¡°Commander, what¡¯s that ball on your jacket?¡±


    ¡°What ball? This is a rabbit¡¯s tail. I can tell you¡¯ve never raised a rabbit.¡± Adrian who had raised more than one rabbit proudly said, ¡°My family made it for me using the hair of the giant space rabbit I raised back at home¡ªAh, speaking of which. Zhong Yan seems to enjoy doing these useless things all day. I told him not to do it, but he kept insisting that a rabbit¡¯s foot was a sign of good luck in ancient times. He made it specially with fur from the rabbit¡¯s foot. A real piece of work, isn¡¯t he? Oh yeah, he actually didn¡¯t know how to do these things before this, so he learned it specially just to give me that bit of extra good luck. Ah, you know how these felt charms are. Quite fussy to do, and you get hurt easily¡­¡±


    The first colonel covered his face, unable to bear looking at him directly. On the other hand, the third colonel who was single since birth was dumbfounded by this sudden critical hit. He listened to Adrian yammer on for five minutes straight with a dumb look on his face. Then, after Adrian finished speaking, he added one last question, ¡°How¡¯s it only the two of you here? Where¡¯s the colonel for the second regiment?¡±


    ¡°He went back to his room early!¡± The third colonel did not hesitate to betray his friend.


    Adrian nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I will go and ask whether he knows how long it¡¯ll be till we arrive.¡±


    After an hour, all the senior officers on the hsip were forced to understand that the white ball was in fact a rabbit¡¯s tail, and they also learned about the legend of the rabbit¡¯s foot, as well as the fact that the giant space rabbit in their Commander¡¯s house had the fur of its foot plucked off.

 Chapter 77 - Family

    After the successive bombardment of explosive coming out in a single day, everyone was already feeling numb to it. So, after Adrian published his letter, troops were sent out from the Navi Military Commanded once more. Nobody thought this was hard to believe¡ªafter all, one of the military commands have already put their hands on civilians inside a school. Also, Adrian¡¯s letter clearly stated that he was going to send troops to deal with the military commands that attacked.


    But over time, everything began to heat up again. An hour has passed since the media first reported that Navi has dispatched troops. Since then, warships continued to pour out from Lebor¡¯s borders with no end in sight. The nearly endless amounts of troops left the entire world shocked. To describe it using one of the hot post titles in the Current Politics Forum, ¡°I¡¯ve already gone to sleep and woke up, but the Navi Military Command¡¯s troops still haven¡¯t come to an end! How many warships do they actually have?!¡±


    The big black mothership slowly pulled out from Lebor¡¯s borders, leading with it a large team of frigates. The media that had been squatting outside the border since a long time ago took pictures of those heavily-armed warships from far away. For the very first time, the Navi Military Command was revealing its true power to the Federation after lying dormant all those years behind locked borders.


    Countless army fans watching the live broadcast were able to make out the outlines of those familiar weapons from those distant and blurry images. They were all riling up in the comments. They never thought that they would actually be able to see these weapons on the battlefield in their lifetime. When these heavy warships just appeared in the Capital, many people were still wondering, ¡°What are they going to do? Why are they taking out weapons designed to destroy entire planets?¡±


    After all these weapons showed up as if they didn¡¯t cost any money, everyone could see that they had brought enough to be able to destroy nearly half of all the planets within the Federation, but they still did not plan to scatter. Instead, when the entire team moved only towards that one military command that had sent out its troops, nobody felt worried anymore. Everyone could see clear as day that they had enough forces to beat that military command into submission a hundred and eighty times over. They didn¡¯t bring these weapons to use them, they were just to deter them.


    This trick really did have a significant effect. All the other armies that had already gathered had given up on actually setting off after Adrian¡¯s letter. More importantly, the public opinion that was growing sluggish because of the Capital¡¯s forceful attitude was now riled up again thanks to the overwhelming force the Navi Military Command showed, as well as their Commander¡¯s attitude that was even tougher. The ordinary civilians who didn¡¯t dare to say anything found the courage to stand up and speak their minds again. In an instant, anger broke out. The virtual community grew lively again for two days, and it was even more bustling than when the videos of the soldiers violently breaking into the school came out.


    However, Zhong Yan was not in the mood to look at such things. He left all this for Intron to deal with instead. Besides dozing off for a short nap halfway through the trip, he spent the rest of his time refreshing the news sent over by all parties without rest, calculating whether Adrian will be able to reach the Institution Star before the Capital. If Adrian was the first to arrive, then the Capital¡¯s affiliated military command is likely to choose to retreat and avoid direct conflict with Navi¡¯s army. If they¡¯re not sure they can win, then there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll want to carry the infamy of being the one to fire the first shot in a civil war between mankind. But if the Capital¡¯s army arrived first, Adrian will take that shot no matter what.


    Compared to Zhong Yan, the number of signal zones in Adrian¡¯s route were very scarce. He set himself an alarm clock that notifies him every time his signal is up so that he would never miss a minute of it even if he was sleeping. He wanted to send Zhong Yan messages to inform him that he was safe. If both of them were free, then they can briefly connect to a voice chat for a short while.


    Such experiences rarely appear in Adrian¡¯s life. It was strange to say, but he never felt the difference when they lived together in the same house. Everything felt so natural as if they had just gone back to their student days. The two of them did not need to make any adjustments to their lives at all after getting married because they used to live together like this to begin with. But after separating, Adrian clearly realized for the first time what having a family was like. He also saw him as his own responsibility, and as long as he had a signal, he would try to update him so that he wouldn¡¯t worry about him.


    All his grandfather wanted was a perfect heir. He never cared about his feelings at all. On the other hand, his mother didn¡¯t even look forward to his birth in the slightest, and it made her so sad she ended her own life. His biological father was forced to marry a woman and he regarded him as a stain in his life. Adrian¡¯s own family had never thought him what that word meant, ¡°Family¡±. But when he reached the age of twenty-seven, he actually got a small family. Someone was there to pour all their love and care onto him. Even though a small part of it was given to the rabbit back at home, he wouldn¡¯t try to fight with a soft herbivore. After all, he was the one who bought it.


    During the times when Adrian was going through the bold and decisive reform of Navi, there were several times that he thought to himself how lucky he was that he wasn¡¯t together with Zhong Yan. It had nothing to do with what sort of person Zhong Yan was, things will just get in the way of the grand cause if he were to have deep relations with anyone. But only now when he stood at the cusp of this historical frenzy, he finally understood how stupid and ignorant those thoughts were back then.


    These warm and soft emotions did nothing to dull him. Instead, he became even tougher and sharper. Now, it was time for him to be unsheathed.


    The distant image of the Institution Star could be seen from the porthole. Just after Adrian stood up, his terminal lit up, reminding him that he had entered the Institution Star¡¯s signal zone.


    ¡°I¡¯ve arrived.¡± Adrian sent Zhong Yan a text message. ¡°I love you.¡±


    He did not turn off the interface. After waiting for a few seconds, he received a reply. ¡°Be careful out there. I love you too.¡±


    Adrian reread the last few messages that Zhong Yan sent him again, and only then did he turn off the virtual screen. He carefully tightened the pendant to his military uniform before heading to the warship¡¯s podium in large strides.


    All the senior officers in the ship have already gathered there. Adrian commanded in a deep voice, ¡°Send the word out to the entire team. Prepare for landing.¡±


    As soon as the messenger wearing a headset received the news from the scouting ship, he said, ¡°Commander, the enemy has also arrived! They are in the other direction. Their distance to the target planet is the same as ours. It is estimated that we will both land in ten minutes¡ª¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t land with them at the same time,¡± Adrian spoke. ¡°Colonel of the second regiment!¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡±


    ¡°Pass on my order, dispatch all single fighter ships in the second regiment.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Commander, do we fight to land first using the fastest ships?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to land? Don¡¯t land. Tell all fighters to target the enemy¡¯s ships. Only intercept them. Do not open fire. If they want to leave, then let them. If they open fire, then¡­make sure not a single one of them gets to leave.¡± A fierce glint of a good battle flashed past Adrian¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve raised soldiers for so many years. After all those fights with space pirates, I still haven¡¯t crossed guns with any actual armies yet.¡±


    However, his thirst for battle still was not able to be quenched this time. All the way until three of their motherships have landed on the Institution Star, the Capital¡¯s affiliated military command that they had intercepted still did not dare to open fire. Hopelessly, they watched as Navi¡¯s patrolling warships covering the entire planet very quickly. The troops from the Capital that had been at a stalemate with them for several hours finally decided to turn around and leave.


    By the time Zhong Yan landed back onto the Capital that he had been absent from for a long time, the situation had already become serious for them.


    The first thing Navi¡¯s troops did after landing on the Institution Star was to remove all the monitoring equipment. Right now, things were just like back then for the Capital when they lost White Aegis and Lebor. They had completely lost all signals from the Institution star.


    Since the majority of the military commands have received ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± suppression orders, a few days have already passed. Up till now, only two military commands have executed its order. If you were to say that the other military commands were lagging behind because both of these military commands have already been defeated by Navi¡¯s army without any resistance under the huge disparity in power¡ªall their weapons had been seized, and all their soldiers were captured¡ªthen it was still forgivable. However, in the two hours before Zhong Yan landed, three military commands that were close in proximity to each other actually issued a joint statement. They have decided to form their own military alliance for the time being and no longer accepted orders from ¡°Butterfly¡±. When necessary, they will request for assistance from the Navi military Command.


    ¡°This is too much. This is a blatant act of segregation. What are they saying at the end? Aren¡¯t they just threatening us right now?¡± After hearing Intron¡¯s report, Zhong Yan responded calmly, ¡°We should criticize their actions immediately.¡±


    Intron answered gleefully, ¡°Of course. But it¡¯s a shame, the Capital¡¯s already having trouble with how much they¡¯re already getting scolded. If we criticize them now, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be adding oil to the fire.¡±


    Zhong Yan gave Intron a glance from the rearview mirror. Intron realized he had gone beyond his own position and quickly put on an anxious expression, saying, ¡°Sir Zhong, should we head to the council house right now or should I take you back to your residence to rest?¡±


    ¡°Neither.¡± Zhong Yan looked out the window and said to him calmly, ¡°Go to the Yate family residence.¡±


    Stalvern Yate had thought that Zhong Yan would not be the same as before, coming to see him as soon as he was summoned. But unexpectedly, Zhong Yan who had just landed in the Capital actually came. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder in his heart. Did the brat not turn?


    ¡°Sir Yate.¡± Zhong Yan greeted him politely just like he did in the past few years. Without even waiting for Stalvern¡¯s response, he quickly began again, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better if I refer to you as Councilor Yate. Even though you have already retired, it still feels a little strange to call you Sir Yate. After all¡ªyou have the same surname as my husband1.¡±


    Stalvern was furious. ¡°What do you mean I have the same surname as him?! He has the same surname as me!¡±


    Notes:


    [1] Sir, Mr., and husband all share the same word, ÏÈÉú.

 Chapter 78 - Truth or Falsehood

    Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re right. I misspoke.¡±


    Stalvern could keenly sense that something was different. Zhong Yan still appeared humble and courteous in front of him. Every time he gets angry, Zhong Yan would bow his head at his word and admit his own wrongs, but Stalvern had been psychologically fighting with people all his life. He had such keen eyes that there was no way he couldn¡¯t tell that Zhong Yan¡¯s seemingly indistinguishable attitude no longer held any respect for him.


    He instantly felt furious and asked him coldly, ¡°What are those men surrounding my house for?¡±


    ¡°Please excuse me, but how are they surrounding your house? They are merely waiting for me at the door. They were the bodyguards my husband assigned to me for my safety. They were going to follow me in, but I stopped them¡ªhow disrespectful would that be to you? Moreover, why would they need to follow me into the Yate Family residence?¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± Stalvern spoke with mockery in his voice. ¡°It is only normal to bring your bodyguards with you when you enter someone else¡¯s home. You wouldn¡¯t think that this is your home now that you¡¯ve married Adrian Yate, would you? Then let me tell you, my family does not recognize that unfilial brat who threw dirt at my ancestors¡¯ reputations.¡±


    Seemingly not the least bit angry, Zhong Yan responded easily, ¡°I did not think of it that way. After all, my husband does not recognize you as family either.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. You¡¯ve grown too big for your nest now, have you?¡± Stalvern couldn¡¯t hold back his anger. ¡°I was wondering why you spent so much effort just to go to Navi¡ªit turns out it¡¯s so you can latch onto my grandson. It¡¯s probably to get the Navi Military Command as your backer isn¡¯t it? You shrugged off Bayer as soon as you arrived. Funny I actually believed that nonsense you made up about those space pirates and being placed under house arrest in Navi!¡±


    ¡°Those are all true.¡± When Zhong Yan saw him get angry, his tone turned into a more comforting one. ¡°At first, I really was¡­detained by them. I should have returned early on, but Bard Pearson and Qu Yongyi had to step in. They ended up dragging me into it too when they tried to assassinate Navi¡¯s commander. Don¡¯t even mention coming back, I nearly lost my life back there. But that¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t have to be in the Capital when the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ was announced thanks to their little mess. Now I¡¯m completely clean of it.¡±


    Stalvern laughed when he heard his words. ¡°So what if your hands are clean? You¡¯re a Representative Councilor, one of the highest-ranking members in the Supreme Council. You are one of the Twelve! Now that the prestige of the Supreme Council has come crumbling down, do you still expect to come out of this in one piece? You¡¯re too short-sighted!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Naturally, I understand that principle. That is why I do not plan to watch this nest turn over. If I truly am short-sighted, then I would just hide in Navi while the Capital is in trouble. Why should I rush back for this event? Naturally¡­I¡¯ve come to turn the tides.¡±


    Stalvern reacted as if he had just heard a stupid joke. ¡°You? Do you really think you¡¯re capable of that?¡±


    Zhong Yan was not upset at all about having his ability questioned. As if he did not hear him, he continued, ¡°I plan to convene a round table meeting. We are going to vote on my proposal, and it will be broadcasted live to the entire Federation. This will appease the turbulent hearts of the people and restore our support.¡±


    ¡°What proposal?¡±


    ¡°An impeachment bill,¡± Zhong Yan answered him calmly, ¡°and our target is the artificial intelligence, ¡®Butterfly¡¯.¡±


    Stalvern was stunned for a moment before he realized what he was saying. He couldn¡¯t help but stand up and cursed at him with his eyes wide. ¡°Outrageous! Sure enough, you¡¯ve really been colluding with those people from Navi! You want to abolish artificial intelligence?¡±


    Zhong Yan sat down and went on, ¡°Councilor Yate, please calm down. Would I come to discuss with you if that was truly my goal? Would I not just be asking for abuse? I am talking about an approach where we break things down before rebuilding. Currently, the civilians have deep grievances against ¡®Butterfly¡¯. Even the military commands are refusing to stay loyal. If we do not do anything now, then I¡¯m afraid the Supreme Council is going to be lost soon. A resounding impeachment case is the best way to appease the people. Don¡¯t they want ¡®Butterfly¡¯ to step down? Then we will show them what they want to see. Regardless of whether the impeachment succeeds in the end¡­the people will already have calmed down after the meeting ends. The impeachment may not succeed, but the cracks in our system will be surfaced. We will give them a sincere promise to rectify our policies, then wouldn¡¯t everything become a thing of the past?¡±


    Stalvern still remained standing. He looked down at Zhong Yan with suspicious eyes while Zhong Yan allowed him to do so without moving. But in just a moment, what Stalvern asked was not related to the impeachment case at all. ¡°How much do you know about Navi dispatching their troops this time around?¡±


    ¡°I know everything about it.¡± Zhong Yan laughed as if he was unable to hold back his amusement. ¡°Your grandson really does not have his guard up against me at all. I would like to thank Councilor Pearson for this one. It was with his actions that I ended up accidentally saving his life.¡±


    Stalvern asked in a sharp tone, ¡°If you know everything, then why didn¡¯t you report this to the Capital in advance?! If we could have sent out our troops early, then we would be able to control the people on the Institution Star. We would not have ended up in such a passive position!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. But if the Capital doesn¡¯t fall into this situation, how am I going to ¡®turn the tides¡¯? If I can¡¯t bring up the impeachment case, then my trust among the people will not be established.¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s eyes gradually cooled. ¡°Councilor Yate. Please do not blame me for being cruel, but if you give them a disease and cure it yourself, then the merit will be yours¡ªCouncilor Pearson is going to bring up the reform soon. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve caught wind of it, right? He helped ¡®Butterfly¡¯ draft the ¡®Honor Decree¡¯ this time, so ¡®Butterfly¡¯ is likely to support him. Moreover, after the Round Table changes to a pyramid structure, and the personnel is cut¡­how will I still have my place in the Supreme Council? I hope you will take no offense from what I am about to say. After all, you¡¯re already retired. Your influence in the Supreme Council is declining. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to help me keep my seat, right? But everything will change after the impeachment order. The public will learn of my sympathy toward the people, and the Supreme Council will remember my work as well. When that time comes, I¡¯ll really have a firm foothold in the Supreme Council. No one will be able to shake me off easily.¡±


    Stalvern returned to his seat on the sofa. He¡¯d always known this young man was ambitious, he just lacked the background and qualifications. From what he could see then, he also lacked the toughness and trickery. Back then, these were the very things he used to take Zhong Yan under him. But he never thought that he would judge him wrongly. At first, Zhong Yan was just like a puppet who was under his control for many years. But it was never his intention to be one deep inside.


    ¡°You¡¯ve crafted such a grand plan and even dragged in ¡®Butterfly¡¯ all so you can steady your own position, allowing the world to insult ¡®Butterfly¡¯ as they wished. It¡¯s absolutely shameful!¡±


    When Zhong Yan heard this, he actually laughed. When Stalvern glared at him, he apologized, ¡°Sorry. I just suddenly thought that you¡¯re still rather similar to my husband in certain aspects. He really was raised by you after all.¡±


    The Yate Family has always taken ¡°loyalty¡± as their badge of honor. Only, Stalvern¡¯s loyalty was aimed towards the AI, while Adrian pledged his to truth and justice.


    However, he was not here to speak with Stalvern about this. Stalvern was offended enough right then. When he thought about it, Adrian would definitely jump out of his seat as well if he heard what he just said. Fortunately, this grandfather and grandson pair were equally disgusted at each other, so there weren¡¯t many chances for confrontations.


    Stalvern took this as an insult and snapped back at him. ¡°Your style is the same as my old rival, Pearson. It¡¯s a shame you did not continue working for him.¡±


    Zhong Yan lowered his gaze and did not deny him. ¡°Is that so? I think so as well. So, as they say¡­You can¡¯t have two tigers on the same mountain. If he can¡¯t tolerate my presence, then it¡¯s neck or nothing for me. I came to you because I thought we could both benefit. After all, I¡¯m young. I¡¯m afraid that nobody would even dare to give me any support if I were to bring up something like an impeachment. What¡¯s more, if it really does make it to the voting stage, twelve is an even number. What are we going to do if we have an even vote? And now that Pearson is the most senior member of the Twelve, the lead will inevitably go to him. So, I was thinking, wouldn¡¯t it be better to invite you to come out and give your vote? Then, we will be able to hold the majority firmly on our side. You are the most recently retired member of the council, and though old, your prestige still runs strong. It is also easy to explain to the others. What do you think?


    Stalvern digested Zhong Yan¡¯s desperate plan for a moment and brought up his questions. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. This is no game. Everything will be broadcast live to the entire world! What will you do if the vote really goes through?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± Zhong Yan shook his head and chuckled. ¡°I believe the only man in the Twelve who will vote for the idea is Vahl Cayman. As for the two who are on a neutral stance, I¡¯m not sure about them. But even if they do vote yes, the only people left are either Pearson, me, or our men. How could we give out a passing vote? Speaking of which, we can¡¯t have a lopsided vote. If we¡¯re going to make the move in front of everyone in a live broadcast, it¡¯ll get everyone talking. Whether the vote will be done anonymously or with our real names, and in what order, whether we need to arrange a few people to put in an approving vote, and also whether I as the person who proposed the idea should vote or not¡­I¡¯ll have to rely on your advice.¡±


    Stalvern¡¯s anger finally subsided a little. He let out a cold snort and did not say whether he was in agreement to his idea or not, but Zhong Yan did not rush him either. He waited patiently beside him. After a moment, Stalvern¡¯s cold voice said, ¡°I¡¯ve lost myself a little from my anger earlier. Your idea is feasible. So, in just the few days it took for Navi¡¯s army to stir up the waves, you¡¯ve already got yourself set on a big decision like this that¡¯s going to affect the rest of your career? Zhong Yan, I know what kind of person you are. You¡¯re cautious. This isn¡¯t a conspiracy you set up with that unfilial brat, is it?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Though he was hit right in the bulls-eye, Zhong Yan still remained completely unruffled. ¡°Naturally, this is something I¡¯ve been planning for a long time. Otherwise, why do you think¡­¡±


    As they say in the past, the best lies are only 70% false. However, when it comes to dealing with a sharp and experienced old man like Stalvern, 30% of the truth won¡¯t be enough.


    ¡°Otherwise, why do you think me and Commander Yate would be matched as optimal marriage partners by ¡®Butterfly¡¯ in such a great coincidence?¡±


    Stalvern looked at Zhong Yan in surprise while the latter chuckled. ¡°Would you like to know who I was originally paired with?¡±

 Chapter 79 - Legacy

    Stalvern looked at Zhong Yan with a probing gaze, as if assessing the credibility of his words. Zhong Yan raised his brows and asked, ¡°Do you not want to know what ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ original proposal to me was? Are you just uninterested in this matter, or¡­have you known it since long ago? After all, that person seems to have a very good blood relationship with you.¡±


    If any part of Stalvern¡¯s expression had been fake earlier, you could now say the change in his expression now was truly genuine. Earlier, Zhong Yan took the initiative to suggest that he himself was the one who set up the match for him and Adrian behind the scenes, and though Stalvern showed surprise, he did not truly believe it. That is because he still knew a bit of what was going on in the background in regards to Zhong Yan¡¯s marriage proposal, so what Zhong Yan brought up may have just been a lie. However, for Zhong Yan to actually say that could prove that he truly did find out, and also interfered with his marriage proposal himself.


    Stalvern¡¯s expression changed over a few times before finally ending in a cold smile. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, huh? You¡¯ve really began setting up your plan since last year¡­When it was announced that your optimal marriage partner was that worthless grandson of mine, I thought there was a mistake. So you were the one who went to ¡®Butterfly¡¯ and asked him to replace your partner with that unfilial bastard.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I went to the ninth floor just for this matter last year, and after stating my intentions, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ told me that he did have an optimal marriage partner for me. I understood immediately when I saw the Yate surname¡­I¡¯m afraid ¡®Butterfly¡¯ was not the one who picked my partner. The one who chose¡­was you, correct?¡±


    Stalvern did not deny it. After his abdication, he quickly came to cooperate with Zhong Yan, but as his own heir of his blood had run away, and with Zhong Yan being an outsider, he couldn¡¯t have him inherit the Yate family. Moreover, Zhong Yan was young and helpless at the time and could only rely on him. But what about ten years later? Twenty? He had to think of an idea to tie Zhong Yan firmly to the Yate family.


    Zhong Yan is an orphan with no relatives. The best way to tie him down is with marriage.


    There are a total of nine floors to the Supreme Council¡¯s building. The eighth floor was dedicated to holding round table meetings, and only the Twelve and their assistants can go up there, while even less have set foot on the ninth floor. It¡¯s commonly said that the ninth floor is where ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± true body resides. Only the twelve representative members have the authority to go up there. And, with no one taking over his vacant position during Stalvern¡¯s first year of retirement, he was allowed to keep his authority temporarily, and twice he took the opportunity when he returned to the council house to handle the transfer of his residual duties to talk to ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    This matter was not a secret in the Supreme Council. Soon after, Zhong Yan was promoted. Everyone thought that Stalvern had come those two times to recommend Zhong Yan to ¡°Butterfly¡±. But in truth, only Stalvern himself knew that ¡°Butterfly¡± has always been generous to the loyal Yate family. He accepted his recommendation the first time he brought it up, and the second time was for Zhong Yan¡¯s marriage.


    Zhong Yan was still young at that time. With the improvement of the average lifespan of a human, the age of marriage was also pushed further back. It was considered the more normal age now to get married at thirty. It would seem too early for Zhong Yan to be married at that age back then. Moreover, he had just pushed Zhong Yan up into position. If in the blink of an eye, ¡°Butterfly¡± also announced one of the Yate family¡¯s heirs as his optimal marriage partner, it would be too obvious. Whether it was in or outside of the council, it won¡¯t sound pleasant. So, it had to be delayed for a few years.


    But that matter was settled right then. ¡°Butterfly¡± promised to choose a partner for Zhong Yan out of the Yate family¡¯s juniors, and Stalvern himself had also made his preparations and made himself clear on the situation of all the male and female juniors at a suitable age within the family. No matter who ¡°Butterfly¡± chose in the end, he will still be able to control the situation. However, he would never have thought that the person he chose would be Adrian.


    Even though Adrian was, in fact, one of the Yate family¡¯s juniors, and ¡°Butterfly¡± did keep his promise, Stalvern still could not figure out the deeper meanings of his actions even after mulling deeply over it for several days. But when Zhong Yan took the initiative to bring up going to the Navi System to probe the situation, he was more or less certain. They must have been in a deadlock with Navi for far too long, and ¡°Butterfly¡± was beginning to get anxious. That is the reason why Stalvern strongly supported Zhong Yan despite how illogical and rash his proposal was. He thought that Zhong Yan was spurred on by ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    After straightening out all the facts, Stalvern said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think ¡®Butterfly¡¯ would actually agree to you asking to be matched with that brat.¡±


    ¡°Everyone called me your puppet at that time. If I were to be an honorable member of the Twelve, I had to ask for his help to give me an opportunity to break through the deadlock and fight for a chance to obtain some political achievements.¡± Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°But didn¡¯t I succeed?¡±


    Stalvern quipped, ¡°Not bad. But did we really break through the deadlock? We¡¯re almost at a dead end! You¡¯re not trying to break the deadlock for the Capital. You¡¯re just eager to build achievements for yourself!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t rebuild everything is we don¡¯t destroy it. Another chance at life for the Capital may not be a bad thing.¡± Zhong Yan asked casually, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your handouts, but¡­¡± Stalvern slowly began, ¡°I¡¯m not going to abandon ¡®Butterfly¡¯ when he¡¯s in danger either. Let¡¯s talk about the specifics.¡±


    Done deal.


    Zhong Yan let out a sigh of relief at the bottom of his heart and put on a smile. Then, he began explaining the whole impeachment plan to him from start to end.


    Zhong Yan who had been recovering from his injury in Navi was finally back, and the atmosphere in the Capital¡¯s Supreme Council also turned strange.


    This council member was no longer the same as before. Now, he was married to the big boss in Navi¡¯s military command, and the various indications of their married life¡ªat the very least, the post-marital life they wish to display to the world¡ªshowed that they were living quite harmoniously. That means that Zhong Yan now has the support of the Navi Military Command at his back. Moreover, due to Zhong Yan being away for a long time, especially now in this situation where everyone is pointing fingers at the council and yelling at them, and also how he clarified his relationship with the matter as soon as he could, the people¡¯s anger towards the Capital did not affect him at all.


    And, even more incomprehensibly, the first thing Councilor Zhong Yan did when he returned to the Capital was to visit the Yate family patriarch. And, his visit lasted so long that he did not come out of the Yate family residence before the sky turned dark. It was not until the second day did he finally resume his duties in the council house.


    Commander Yate and the Yate family should be enemies in an irreconcilable feud¡­What on earth was Zhong Yan and Old Yate talking about for such a long time?


    Then, a small number of the people were thinking about this matter were soon contacted by Old Yate, and found out about the plan.


    Zhong Yan went to work as usual during the days when Old Yate was contacting the conservative party to talk to them about the plan. Even though he had tossed the matter of the ¡°Honor Decree¡± aside, the work he could not finish remotely that had been piling up for months was still enough to busy him to death. Today, he was only able to walk out of the council house after the sun had set.


    He has not had this many people in his hybrid scooter before. Two of the bodyguards Adrian gave him were seated in front while he and Intron were seated at the back. The situation has been getting tense recently, so it wasn¡¯t safe to move around alone at night. So, he had Intron ride in his car so he could send him back.


    As soon as he got in, Zhong Yan said, ¡°Turn on the shield.¡±


    Intron was caught off guard for a moment, but he still turned on the shield. Only after that did he say, ¡°Sir Zhong, will the AI detect anything strange with our actions if we keep turning on the shield every day as soon as we enter the car?¡±


    Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re the ones using it the most? Right now, I¡¯m afraid not a single person in the Twelve isn¡¯t using it. Everything¡¯s about to collapse soon, who doesn¡¯t have their own secret plans they want to talk with their subordinates about? What¡¯s more¡­so what if we¡¯re caught by the AI? He¡­¡± He¡¯ll be obsolete soon.


    Even if the signal shield was turned on, Zhong Yan was still cautious and did not speak out that sentence. Instead, he asked, ¡°How is the situation outside today?¡±


    ¡°Just about the same as two days ago,¡± Intron answered. ¡°The Navi Military Command has not withdrawn from Institution Star this entire time, and the monitoring equipment have all been completely dismantled. Nobody knows what is going on in Institution Star right now, but according to the posts made by the students in the virtual community, everything seems quite leisurely. All the stores and concessions are running as usual, and none of them need to go to class.¡±


    Even though the heavy weapon units that struck fear in all the military commands had long cleaned up two military commands and returned to Navi, but the team that their supreme commander had assumed personal command of was reluctant to pull back, leaving the Capital on tenterhooks. After all, Institution Star was much too close to the Capital.


    It was now an urgent demand for the Capital to appease the people and the army due to this overwhelming pressure. Under Stalvern and Zhong Yan¡¯s efforts, the impeachment bill has been roughly drafted, and now they are only waiting for the final touches to be added on.


    Since Zhong Yan had to take a detour to send Intron back, it was already late at night when he returned to his condo.


    This condominium complex was located in a high-price area, and the people who lived there were all high-end residents. There was a separate garage downstairs for each property owner, and there was an elevator within that brought each person directly to their condo. Privacy was well-guaranteed here, and it was for this reason that Zhong Yan purchased such an expensive house.


    There were no extra rooms or beds in his one-bedroom studio, so Zhong Yan had to rent a room nearby for his six temporary bodyguards. The two bodyguards who were in charge of picking him up today brought him to a garage, and after watching him take the elevator directly up to his floor, left with the vehicle.


    Zhong Yan stood alone in the elevator, reading through the chat logs between him and Adrian. After returning to work under ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± watchful gaze, he could not contact Adrian frequently. So, the two of them had only exchanged daily reports of their good health to each other these recent days.


    Perhaps¡­he could give Adrian a call tonight. Zhong Yan stroked the screen that displayed Adrian¡¯s last message to him. He really missed him too much. If anything, he could just be a little more cautious and avoid talking about business on the phone. It¡¯s still good to be able to hear his voice. It¡¯s been so many days since he¡¯d last heard it.


    While thinking about that, Zhong Yan stepped out of the elevator door to his condo and was instantly stunned.


    The lights in the living room were on. The lights that were installed in his condo were equipped with sensor lights which only lit up when someone was home. Zhong Yan¡¯s complexion changed. His first reaction was to press the emergency call on his terminal which was connected to the bodyguards, but at the same time, a black shadow had pounced on him from behind, covering his mouth and pushing him firmly down on the sofa.


    Zhong Yan struggled subconsciously, only to hear the deep male voice he had yearned for ring out right by his ear, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯m a space pirate and this is a robbery.¡±

 Chapter 80 - My Gun is Cocked and This is What You Show Me?

    Zhong Yan stopped struggling. He wondered if he was having an illusion from missing him too much. His reasoning told him the facts of what happened, but his immense joy he felt made it so he actually didn¡¯t dare to turn around to verify it for a while.


    Seeing him remain unmoving, the person behind began to get anxious.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡± Adrian helped Zhong Yan up from the sofa and held his face anxiously, asking, ¡°Sorry, did I frighten you?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at the handsome face right in front of him and suddenly pounced over. ¡°Ade!¡±


    The two of them held each other tightly on the sofa while Zhong Yan asked in disbelief, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Institution Star is in a stable condition now. I wouldn¡¯t have anything to do even if I stuck around, so I thought I¡¯d come see you.¡± Adrian stroked the corners of Zhong Yan¡¯s pleased eyes lovingly and said, ¡°I missed you so much.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Zhong Yan lightly punched him on the chest. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? You scared me earlier. I thought it was one of Pearson¡¯s boys.¡±


    Adrian held his hand to his chest in an exaggerated manner and said, ¡°I plead innocent! You were the one who told me not to say too much in our text messages.¡±


    ¡°Then did I tell you to play out the role of a space pirate as well?¡± Though he said that, Zhong Yan could hardly feel angry with Adrian¡¯s actions. He reached out to help Adrian smooth out his clothes that had been wrinkled during their contact. ¡°How many people did you bring here?¡±


    He did not ask Adrian how he came in. Nowadays, when two citizens became legal partners with each other, certain permissions in the system would be shared by default, including the permissions for the houses and cars owned by the couple. You could turn off the permissions manually, but neither Adrian or Zhong Yan had done so. They even shared many others. So of course Adrian had the permission to enter his house. Only, Zhong Yan never expected Adrian to have the opportunity to use these permissions so soon.


    ¡°Uh¡­Your house is smaller than I expected. Why don¡¯t you buy yourself a bigger house?¡± Adrian spoke guiltily, ¡°How many square meters is this place? Does it even have fifty?¡±


    Zhong Yan narrowed his eyes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have come alone without bringing anyone else, would you?¡±


    Since the last attack, Adrian had greatly increased the security forces around him. On the surface, he would say that he learned a hard lesson from it, but in truth, Adrian did not find it that important. He might as well become more alert himself. However, it was mainly due to the strong demands of Zhong Yan and some other senior officers that he increased his number of guards and brought them everywhere with him.


    ¡°No, honey. Listen to me, I came here secretly, didn¡¯t I? It wouldn¡¯t be convenient if I brought my men. I had to keep my identity blocker on the whole trip here just to get away from ¡®Butterfly¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°How could you act alone!¡± Zhong Yan grunted in dissatisfaction. But since Adrian was already here, it was useless to say anything. Not lingering on useless things was also one of Zhong Yan¡¯s strong points. Also, he was particularly indulgent towards Adrian. Take for example how Adrian always liked throwing his clothes everywhere as soon as he returned. After trying one time to mention it ten years ago without any results, he never mentioned it again. Instead, he would always follow behind him and clean up himself. Zhong Yan did not continue complaining about it and instead asked, ¡°Does anyone know you¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Several colonels do. Fayn and the others in Navi know as well. I haven¡¯t been here long myself either. I just reported to them right before you came in.¡±


    Only then did Zhong Yan feel relieved. When he saw how travel-worn Adrian looked with his jacket still on and his hat and sunglasses thrown onto the sofa, he figured that he must have come in disguise and couldn¡¯t help but feel pity. ¡°Did you have a rough journey here? When did you last eat? Are you hungry?¡±


    When Adrian saw that delicious looking face that he had not been able to see for so many days, his eyes turned dark. ¡°I really am¡­rather hungry.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then, let me make you some¡ªOh, I¡¯ve never cooked in this house before.¡± The kitchen he had at home was just for decoration. There was no kitchenware inside at all. Thinking that Adrian must be hungry, Zhong Yan said anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ve always bought food from outside so there¡¯s nothing to eat at home. I¡¯ll go buy you supper now. The delivery services in the Capital are really quick, they¡¯ll definitely be able to arrive within ten minutes of¡­Mh!¡±


    Adrian sealed his mouth with his lips and held one hand behind his head to deepen their first kiss in a while. It wasn¡¯t until Zhong Yan¡¯s body went soft under his arms did he finally pull back.


    ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s nothing to eat at home?¡± Adrian kissed his cheek and murmured, ¡°This right here looks pretty good.¡±


    They were both men with normal functioning bodies, so it was natural for them to have their needs. It would¡¯ve been fine in the past, but once you have your first taste of meat, it¡¯s hard to stop. After being forced to go vegetarian these days, Zhong Yan really did miss that taste. Adrian reached his hand inside his clothes from the hem of his shirt and stroked the smooth skin of his waist, causing Zhong Yan to shudder. He couldn¡¯t help but feel aroused and his breath grew heavy as he kissed him. Lower down, his hands were already beginning to unbutton Adrian¡¯s shirt.


    If they¡¯re going to do it on the sofa then the sofa it is, Zhong Yan thought. The house is pretty small anyways, and there¡¯s nobody¡­


    Ding.


    The gentle beep of the elevator caused the semi-aroused couple to freeze. They looked at each other, and Zhong Yan was the first to recall that he had pressed on the emergency help button when Adrian pounced on him from behind. But, before he had any time to react, several fully-armed men rushed out of the elevator with their guns brandished in the very next second. When the two men at the lead saw the scene in the living room, their feet stopped.


    Adrian had a stare down with two of his most powerful guard captains.


    Before anyone could say anything, the guard standing at the very back who was unable to see Adrian¡¯s face, and only saw Zhong Yan being pressed down by a man on the sofa, shouted out without hesitation, ¡°Let him go! Are you tired of living? How dare you touch our boss¡¯s man!¡±


    Their boss, Adrian, ¡°¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan, ¡°¡­¡±


    The other guards, ¡°¡­¡±


    Two minutes later.


    As if nothing had happened, Adrian buttoned up his shirt buttons that were half-undone by Zhong Yan earlier. Two of the six guards he assigned to Zhong Yan were captains, and at this moment, the two of them were sitting on the sofa together with Adrian and reporting to him the recent days¡¯ events. Even though they didn¡¯t really know what they should say themselves, it didn¡¯t really matter. Adrian wasn¡¯t listening at all. They were just trying their best to create a normal atmosphere and drown out the blunder they made earlier.


    The guard who shouted out and escalated the situation to peak embarrassment was currently shrunk into the corner of the living room by himself with his back to everyone. He was too embarrassed to face everyone and was just trying to hide his existence right now.


    On the other hand, Zhong Yan who had his clothes straightened out by Adrian and helped off the sofa, ran off to hide in the room after leaving behind a quick ¡°I¡¯ll get everyone water¡±, and no longer came out, leaving Adrian behind to face his six guards.


    After hiding for a few minutes, Zhong Yan finally calmed down from his embarrassment. He said he was going to get everyone water, but there was actually only one cup in the house so he couldn¡¯t really do that. So, the only thing he could do was order a few bottles of juice from the 24-hour convenience store downstairs and quickly brought them in through the platform outside the window.


    Originally, when he was living alone, he felt like the living room for his apartment was pretty big, but coming out now with eight grown men sitting in his living room, everything instantly became crowded. Zhong Yan distributed juice to them, and the guards didn¡¯t even know whether they should accept it or not as they looked at Adrian with hesitation. Adrian waved his hand and said, ¡°If Mr. Zhong is offering you a drink, just drink it. What are you looking at me for?¡±


    Only then did the guards accept the drink. Zhong Yan had originally planned to sit down with them, but when he saw that the sofa was already taken up by three people, leaving no space for him, he could only stand around and find something to talk about. ¡°Sorry, my house is a little messy since I haven¡¯t been cleaning up lately, it¡¯s quite embarrassing¡­¡±


    The entire house was as clean and tidy as if someone had just done some spring cleaning before they came in, but nobody could care about the discrepancy. The two captains responded with a few polite remarks, both still scared witless.


    Zhong Yan had only pressed on the emergency call button because of how Adrian teased him. Then, as Adrian began getting way too excited, he completely forgot about it. But in the end, it was their own fault that they made them come all this way for nothing, and they were Adrian¡¯s capable subordinates too. Embarrassed, Zhong Yan invited them to stay for a meal. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all stay for supper before you go? Since you¡¯re all here¡­¡±


    The two guard captains on the sofa looked at Adrian again. Adrian stood up and went to stand next to Zhong Yan, but he couldn¡¯t argue with Zhong Yan¡¯s kindness, so he could only say with his arms around Zhong Yan¡¯s waist, ¡°Yeah, stay for supper. Are you guys¡­¡± With dangerous and meaningful eyes, he swept his gaze past each and every one of their faces, ¡°Hungry?¡±


    All the guards in the living room jumped with a start, and they all hurried to refuse, ¡°No no, we¡¯re not hungry.¡±


    ¡°We just ate, commander.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Zhong. I think we¡¯ll¡­skip for today.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine then.¡± Adrian said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we troubled all of you to rush over here. You should go back and rest. Also, there¡¯s no need for any of you to stay on guard tonight. Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be living here these days so you won¡¯t need the permissions for the door anymore. Just cancel it.¡±


    The guards all obeyed his order. If Adrian himself were to stay in this house, then he would become the strongest guard. There really was no need for them to keep his door permissions for emergencies.


    After sending the guards away, Adrian and Zhong Yan looked at each other in front of the elevator door, and both laughed at the same time.


    Once bitten, twice shy. Zhong Yan locked the elevator door from the inside with his permission. After all that happened, they really did feel a little hungry. So, the two of them ordered some supper and sat at the small square table Zhong Yan usually ate alone at in the kitchen, and ate their food facing each other.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t bring any of your luggage, did you?¡± Zhong Yan¡¯s voice was a lot more lively than usual. Even if the current situation was quite severe, he still couldn¡¯t help but chatter away happily. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll choose out some clothes for you. I saw a nice coat in the Central Business District last time I went there. You¡¯ll definitely look good in it¡ªOh, do you know about that place? It¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. Your husband¡¯s been living seventeen years of his life in the Capital,¡± Adrian laughed. Then, he reached out a loving hand to Zhong Yan and brushed his hair behind his ear. ¡°Anything you pick out is nice. Come, let¡¯s eat.¡±

 Chapter 81 - The Night Before

    The next day, Intron came early in the morning as usual, in his suit and leather shoes, and waited in front of his door. Even though he mentioned in the beginning that he was only giving him a ride out of convenience, it actually wasn¡¯t because Zhong Yan wanted to pick him up. And he knew that too. Right now, he was ¡°Specimen¡¯s¡± second-in-command, and there were issues with his security. So, he did not argue or refuse Zhong Yan when he offered these arrangements. It seemed quite unreasonable for a Representative Councilor to pick up his assistant to and from work each day, and they would not have done so in order to avoid any suspicions. But now¡­


    Intron stood below his own apartment block, watching the cars go by while he thought absently in his heart, who cares about that now, right? The bill to impeach ¡°Butterfly¡± was officially put on the agenda. Anyway, the votes would be coming in in a couple of days. Even though there were still many Representative Councilors who were against the bill, there were already people¡ªnaturally, ¡°Specimen¡¯s¡± men¡ªwho have broken the news anonymously to everyone in the virtual community. The people cheered, and they all flooded the Supreme Council¡¯s official website and homepage to ask about its progress, putting the council at an even more difficult position. If they did not allow the bill to continue, they worried that a greater rebound awaited them.


    Zhong Yan¡¯s affordable four-seater stopped by him. After Intron opened the back door and got inside, he was just about to greet Zhong Yan like usual when he suddenly realized that the person sitting beside him was not Zhong Yan. Instead, it was a young bodyguard.


    Zhong Yan who usually sits in the back seat was sitting shotgun today, while the person driving was a bodyguard wearing shades¡ªHold on, why did he need to wear shades while driving? Moreover, the half of the man¡¯s face that was revealed looks rather familiar somehow¡­Intron tried and tried again to think while he stared at the driver through the rearview mirror, but he could not recall who that face belonged to. He could only greet Zhong Yan in a muddled state.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Zhong Yan responded warmly to him. Even though he did not respond to him any differently¡ªand was pretty nice to him after their identity as fellow brethren were revealed¡ªIntron still felt that Zhong Yan seemed to be in a better mood than usual.


    However, the young guard sitting at the back was in a complete opposite state to Zhong Yan. For some reason, this young man who looked just about twenty or so years old had on an expression almost as if he had seen through the vanities of life itself. Intron attempted to greet him and tried to ask what caused the strange atmosphere in the car, but he received a ghastly gaze in response.


    Intron, ?


    They quickly arrived at the council house. After the car stopped, Intron was just about to get down when he heard Zhong Yan say to the driver, ¡°Drive slowly on the way back and don¡¯t use the Central Commercial Street. Traffic tends to be heavy there at this hour.¡±


    Intron had never heard Zhong Yan speak in such a gentle tone. He looked up in surprise at the front and heard the man wearing the large shades respond, ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m more familiar with the roads at the Capital than you are. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    His tone was filled with indulgence. it was not his usual style of speaking, but from what he could see of the half of his face that was revealed, Intron was able to deduce who that voice belonged to, and he was so shocked that he even forgot to get off the car.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be heading to work then,¡± Zhong Yan told him.


    ¡°Hold on a second.¡± Adrian held his hand to stop him and took off his shades, turning to the back seats. ¡°You two get off first. He¡¯ll catch up soon.¡±


    Intron looked at his rarely-seen silver irises and nodded dumbly. Meanwhile, the young guard beside him asked doubtfully, ¡°Commander, why am I getting off as well?¡±


    Adrian responded in dissatisfaction, ¡°You get off if I tell you to. What are you asking all this nonsense for?¡±


    Zhong Yan quickly tugged at his sleeves and coaxed the two at the back in a gentle voice. ¡°You two are about the same age, right? What a coincidence. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if you two could have a chat and maybe become friends?¡±


    There¡¯s such a high probability of being the same age! How was that a coincidence?!


    With Intron and the young guard both being kicked out from the car, the two of them stood silently by the road. After a moment, the guard awkwardly began, ¡°So you¡¯re 23 as well? Haha, it is quite a coincidence, huh?¡±


    Intron responded, ¡°No. I¡¯m 24.¡±


    ¡­Things got even more awkward.


    Fortunately, Zhong Yan joined them soon after, ending the awkward conversation. Intron breathed a sigh of relief and followed Zhong Yan into the council house. The usual unaffected expression returned to Zhong Yan¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Is the speech finalized?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir Zhong.¡±


    ¡°Good. Pass it to me later.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    While Intron talked with him about work, Zhong Yan did not look any different from usual. Only by looking closely would anyone realize that his lips were more bright and moist than usual, almost as if¡­he had just been kissed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you back first. Give me the address,¡± Adrian said to the guard who had returned to the car.


    The guard had a start, and he quickly responded, ¡°No need, commander. Let me change seats with you. I¡¯ll drive. The captain will have my head if he finds out I let you drive while I just sit around.¡±


    He was the one who accidentally accused his commander as a rapist because he had not seen the situation properly, and he had received a long nagging from his captain after returning because of it.


    ¡°Does it matter who drives? What¡¯s more, this should be your first time in your Capital, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m more familiar with these parts than you are. Hurry up, there¡¯s somewhere else I need to go after sending you off.¡±


    Before the guard could say anything to refuse him, Adrian had already found where he stayed from the recent navigation addresses recorded in the car and began heading over.


    He had long heard of the rumors that Adrian did not put on any airs in his private life, and would always treat even the lowest ranking soldiers as brethren. He finally saw it himself today. Only¡­The young guard was sitting in the front passenger seat at the edge of tears, recalling what happened this morning.


    He and another guard drove to Zhong Yan¡¯s garage as usual, waiting for him to come down. But unexpectedly, two people showed up. Adrian said he needed to go out for something. So, in order to disguise himself, he had to exchange clothing with one of the guards. It just so happened that the older guard wore clothes more similar in size to Adrian, so it was him who exchanged clothes with Adrian. That resulted in Adrian driving, Councilor Zhong Yan sitting shotgun, while he alone sat at the back, thinking about why he was even there in the first place.


    To put their relationships into perspective, they were a legal, newlywed couple. But if you were to call him Zhong Yan¡¯s bodyguard¡­It did not seem like there was any protecting to do when the man nicknamed the Single Strongest Human Soldier, Adrian, was sitting at the front.


    He thought it was awkward enough being the third wheel in the car, but he never expected that that would be over after Zhong Yan got off. But now, Adrian seemed to have become his driver. The guard felt like he was sitting on pins and needles the whole ride through. He didn¡¯t even think about asking Adrian where he was going, and what he was going to do.


    That night, Zhong Yan brought home a full set of kitchen utensils when he returned. The sounds of pots and pans could be heard for the very first time in his bachelor¡¯s apartment. The small home was now filled with the smell of food. Adrian lifted his head up from his work, his attention caught by the aroma and the sight of Zhong Yan¡¯s busy back. He couldn¡¯t focus on his work anymore, and instead went over to Zhong Yan¡¯s side and paced back and forth behind him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat the ingredients,¡± Zhong Yan slapped away his mischievous hands that were reaching over and laughed, ¡°Why don¡¯t you chat with me instead? That¡¯ll keep your mouth engaged.¡±


    Adrian whose hands moved so quickly that his enemies could hardly see what was coming to them was actually caught by Zhong Yan, who had no combat experience whatsoever. You could tell he didn¡¯t really intend to snatch a bite, he just wanted to play around.


    Adrian hugged Zhong Yan who was currently cooking from behind. When they were still staying together in the dorms, he only dared to hold his shoulder for fear that Zhong Yan would see through his feelings, but he could openly circle his arms around Zhong Yan¡¯s waist now. ¡°The last fight is tomorrow. Nervous?¡±


    What he was talking about was the notice released by the Supreme Council just this afternoon. Due to ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± illegal issuing of the ¡°Honor Decree¡±, as well as the military order for the crackdown that ended up injuring some students, the Supreme Council has decided to start an impeachment bill. A vote will be held at the round table tomorrow, and in good faith, the process will be broadcast live throughout the entirety of the Federation.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already come this far. We¡¯ve done all we needed to.¡± While stirring the pot with one hand, he let his free hand rest on Adrian¡¯s arm that covered his waist. ¡°Things were still going fine today. We managed to negotiate the general process of everything just before work hours were over. Otherwise, we may have had to start a late-night meeting.¡±


    This morning, the most senior member of the Twelve, Bard Pearson, his presence long overdue, entered the room just when the meeting was about to begin. If there was no meeting, then he may not even appear in the council until the afternoon. The entire council was already used to this.


    After this meeting, however, Pearson who still adamant on not agreeing to the impeachment vote actually nodded. However, he brought up wanting to host the vote himself. But Zhong Yan was resolute in inviting Stalvern Yate to reside over it instead. Right now, Zhong Yan¡¯s standing was different. He held a certain amount of weight in the round table. The two sides were in a deadlock over the matter, but the matter was finally settled when the neutral party, led by Vahl Cayman, leaned over to Old Yate¡¯s side.


    Zhong Yan covered the pot and turned around to embrace Adrian. He said, ¡°I thought things would definitely drag on until the day after, but it seems your work was successful today.¡±


    Adrian did not answer him directly. They always spoke with much caution within the Capital, and they tried as much as possible to avoid talking about the specifics of their plans. So, Adrian had only tightened his hold around that man and said in a warm voice, ¡°Everything¡¯s going swimmingly for me these past few days. The lucky charm you made me must be effective.¡±


    As he said that, he took out the white ball from his pocket. As soon as he saw that, Zhong Yan grinned. ¡°You¡¯re really bringing that around with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course. This is my lucky charm.¡± Adrian put the ball into Zhong Yan¡¯s hands and said solemnly to him, ¡°I¡¯ll lend this to you for a day. After you¡¯re done with it tomorrow, remember to hand it back to me.¡±


    With a smile, Zhong Yan agreed. ¡°Okay.¡±


    While watching him, it seemed like Adrian had something to say to him, but he kept stopping. Sensing that, Zhong Yan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    If they lose tomorrow, then he will forcibly take Zhong Yan away from the Capital. He knows that Zhong Yan likely won¡¯t agree to that. He would definitely stay behind to deal with the aftermath. Even if they can¡¯t get away, Zhong Yan¡¯s safety was still the most important to Adrian, and that was also the purpose of his secret trip to the Capital.


    ¡°If¡­¡± Adrian¡¯s words cut off at his lips, but he still managed to say, ¡°If you lose it, then you have to make me another one. This time, I want a wolf¡¯s tail.¡±

 Chapter 82 - The Final Banquet

    This may be the most-watched live broadcast in the Federation¡¯s history.


    Vahl sat in his usual seat at the round table and swept a glance at the hovering cameras above the round table. Though this wasn¡¯t the time for it, an idea popped up in his mind. Last time, when Adrian was buying blood at an exorbitant price, you could say that nearly everyone had watched the video. But still, everything happened so suddenly that most people had only seen the recording afterwards, not the live broadcast. And then there was the other live broadcast before that ignited a heated discussion among the people¡­That press conference held in Lebor? Or was it the hundred-year celebration of the Supreme Institution? No matter which one it was, Vahl was convinced that the number of viewers then couldn¡¯t be compared to right now.


    The territory of the Federation was too vast. It was now the afternoon in the Capital, but it was midnight for some people and early mornings for others. However, the live broadcast for the impeachment case was announced by the Supreme Council 24 hours ago. Even the planets where it was currently 3 in the morning were brightly lit.


    Some people were expectant, some were angry, some were excited, and some were fearful. But without exception, many people cared very much about this ballot that will determine the future direction of human society.


    Vahl was the earliest to arrive. The cameras were not on yet, so the viewers who had logged into the broadcast early were met with a black screen, as well as notifications that the live broadcast had yet to begin.


    There wasn¡¯t any special reason for him to enter the round table meeting room early. He just wanted to sit down quietly by himself for a moment. He could not be any more familiar with this room. For 13 chairs to be present today was a sight he still couldn¡¯t get used to. Besides Pearson, he was the oldest among the Twelve. At just thirty years old, Vahl had already managed to become one of the representative councilors. For some time, he was very well-known for being history¡¯s youngest representative councilor, and that record was only broken twenty years later by Zhong Yan.


    It wasn¡¯t as if he was void of ambition, nor was he willing to just remain mediocre. Otherwise, he would not have been able to climb to the apex of human power at such a young age. However, he still could not let go of that love. With gritted teeth, he sacrificed his future for it. Unfortunately, he was too young to be able to compete with the Yate family¡¯s patriarch and ended up with nothing in the end.


    If he had accepted the young lady that ¡°Butterfly¡± had assigned to him back then, then his life could¡¯ve gone in a completely different direction. Vahl had the support of the Cayman family at his back. If he married a wife that stood at the same heights as him in society, then he would definitely have been able to strengthen his position as a newly elected member of the Twelve with the support of the two families. Most importantly, he would not have incurred ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± dislike. Perhaps he might have been able to contend with the two giants, Stalvern Yate and Bard Pearson, a few years later. After all, the two of them were old, and he himself had been still so young. A few more years of experience would definitely have been enough for him to hold the Federation in his hands.


    If only he accepted ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± match back then. Vahl knew its benefits better than anyone, but he still decided to follow his heart. He never regretted it, and if he were to ask himself whether he would do it again, he would definitely say yes.


    He thought he would have to sit there for a long time before anyone else would come, but in fact, the sounds of another person¡¯s feet could be heard at the entrance in just a moment.


    The conservatives, with Stalvern Yate at the lead, made their entrance.


    But Vahl was not surprised. Compared to Pearson, Stalvern had always been a hardworking man who fulfilled his duties responsibly when he was still part of the council. Now, for him to come to the meeting room early was normal as he was someone invited to join the meeting. When Vahl first entered the Supreme Council, he once heard the young members of the council chatting in private, saying that they suspected that Stalvern was a robot. Because, he was able to achieve the surprising feat of never being late, never leaving early, and never taking a single day off for ten consecutive years in office.


    Stalvern was almost forty years old when he received the order to procreate. He and his daughter did not really receive that order that early on in their lives, so the age gap between him and Adrian was slightly larger than compared with the age gap between a regular grandparent and his grandchild. Currently, his grandson had only turned twenty-seven, while he was already struggling to talk. Even though he still had a very stern and spirited face, a trace of his age could still be seen.


    Contrary to Stalvern¡¯s old age, the young man walking behind him had a very beautiful face, with eyes as wonderful as a painting. Vahl often felt that this overly young and beautiful face looked a little out of place in the round table where the average age was more than sixty. Ever since Zhong Yan replaced Stalvern as a representative member at the round table, the average year of their members had been pushed down by several years just by Zhong Yan¡¯s help alone.


    Three other representative members followed behind the old and young pair, but neither of the three acted as if they had seen Vahl and gave him no greetings. Instead, they went over to their own seats and sat down. Without any hesitation, Stalvern took the main seat that faced the entrance¡ªquite ironic now if you think about it, but the Supreme Council was originally designed as a ¡°round table¡± council, meaning that all twelve representative members were of equal standing. However, a gap gradually began to form between the positions. For example, the seat opposite to Pearson that Zhong Yan usually took represented the very last place.


    But today, Zhong Yan had walked with Stalvern straight to the main seats, sitting down at Stalvern¡¯s right. Stalvern swept a glance over to the sequence in which the other three members sat, and frowned. ¡°Xiao Li, don¡¯t sit there. Come here.¡±


    The ¡°Xiao Li¡± he mentioned was one of the representative members who was already 67-years-old. The councilor surnamed Li stood up, only to hear Zhong Yan say, ¡°Hold on.¡±


    They all looked at Zhong Yan. Even Vahl had looked over to him. Could it be, was the conservative party going to start an internal fight before the meeting even began?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine enough if only the Twelve could see the arrangements during our regular meetings.¡± But Zhong Yan was not trying to stir trouble, he only mentioned to Stalvern in a humble tone, ¡°This time, the meeting is going to be broadcast to the entire world. If we sit too¡­It won¡¯t do us any good if this becomes an object of discussion among the people. No matter what differences there were in the round table, this is the time for everyone to work together to overcome our difficulties. I think it would be best to sit down in chronological order of when we entered the council instead¡ªand it just so happens that the most senior member is Councilor Yate, while I am the very last. So, as long as we are situated at the start and at the end, nobody would say anything regardless of what order we are seated in the center.¡±


    A tight frown formed at Stalvern¡¯s brow. It seemed like he was going to reprimand him, but Zhong Yan intercepted him and continued, ¡°Councilor Yate. What about this? I will sit to your right. Councilor Pearson entered the Twelve right after you, so he should sit to your left. Then¡­Who was next? Was it Councilor Annoni?¡±


    Stalvern froze. He immediately understood what Zhong Yan was trying to say. This time, the voting was based on an open vote with their real names, and they were not all going to be making their votes simultaneously. This meant that each person would take turns announcing their votes. Generally, such votes would proceed in a clockwise order, which meant that voting would begin from Stalvern¡¯s left.


    ¡°That is incorrect. Councilor Cayman should be right after Councilor Pearson.¡± Though Stalvern was speaking to Zhong Yan, he was looking at Vahl with a meaningful gaze. ¡°But I don¡¯t blame you. You entered much too late, so you don¡¯t know of the past. Back then, Councilor Cayman had entered the round table at a very young age. It was big news back then, and he was much more spirited than you are now too. Come, Cayman. The second seat to my left is yours.¡±


    This was even better. Pearson would be the first to vote after him, and Vahl the second. After the two people he scorned the most took their votes early on, he would be able to enjoy the rest in peace. Even though he didn¡¯t much like Zhong Yan right now either, they were still in an alliance right now, as far as matters were concerned. By leaving Zhong Yan at his right, and also the final vote, would add on an extra layer of security.


    Vahl was no longer the young man who jumped at Stalvern¡¯s ridicule. His many decades of unsuccessful political career had already worn away his edges. At this moment, none of his emotions showed on his face, and he only walked silently over to the second seat left of Stalvern and sat down.


    The other three conservative members had also figured out their positions and sat down.


    After they were done mulling over the issue of their seats, the rest of the members quickly arrived. Surprisingly to them, half of the members have already taken their seats in order. Moreover, Zhong Yan¡¯s words did make sense. So, everyone sat down in their chronological order of when they had become representative members. Even Pearson who came the very last had only scoffed at the matter and said nothing else.


    Indeed, this was not the right day for a dispute. They had already reached an agreement among all the members present during yesterday¡¯s round table meeting. They assigned five people, including Vahl and the two neutral parties, as well as one conservative member and a radical member to vote in favor of the bill. The remaining seven, including Stalvern, would vote against the bill. At the very end, the case would be rejected with five votes against eight.


    The neutral members who were assigned to vote yes were originally unhappy with these decisions. This vote was nothing more than a show, and the AI would not need to actually step down. Voting in favor of the bill would not help their own political careers now either. Including Vahl, it wasn¡¯t to say the three representative members were in a party of their own. They were called the ¡°neutral party¡± because they were in no party at all. To put it bluntly, though the two representative members who were in a clique were assigned passing votes, they were destined to be the losers. But of course, resources would be given to both parties as compensation after the matter ended, but the three of them could only suffer.


    And so, one of them raised an objection yesterday. He wanted Zhong Yan to change votes with him. He claimed that if Zhong Yan could both propose the impeachment bill and win the vote against AI, then he would gain nothing but benefits, and it would be too greedy for him to do so. But later, he said that there was no way for Zhong Yan to justify voting against the bill if he were the one who brought it up in the first place. The public would think he was inconsistent. So, they might as well get through with it to the end and have Zhong Yan give a passing vote. No matter what, Zhong Yan would not change his vote.


    For some reason, Pearson was strangely quiet the other day. It was a rare chance for him to be able to take a jab at Zhong Yan, but he actually said nothing. With nobody speaking against him, he managed to have his way in the end.


    Right now, this very unhappy neutral member was seated right to Zhong Yan¡¯s right. Besides Zhong Yan, he was the least qualified member in the Twelve.


    The thirteen councilors are now in place. As the clock hands both coincided on the old-fashioned round clock on the wall, red lights signaling their on-air status were now lit up on the cameras hovering above the round table.


    The darkness of the screens of the Federations¡¯ ever corner finally subsided. The image everyone was waiting for finally appeared.


    In the vast galaxy, the hundreds of millions of people who inhabit this world now attend the final banquet.

 Chapter 83 - Judgement Day Meeting

    The live cameras emitted a soft beep to remind everyone present that the live broadcast had begun.


    Since the round table was established, this was the first time AI has been absent from the meeting for nearly a century. Even if they had already discussed the process yesterday, and ¡°Butterfly¡± was informed as well, it still felt a little strange for the representative members. The hollow cylinder at the center was empty. ¡°Butterfly¡± did not come, and their meeting was going to begin.


    The beam, representing the AI¡¯s lack of presence, lit up at the center of the table. In the AI¡¯s place, Stalvern who sat at the seat of honor stood up and announced to the camera the beginning of the meeting to all the viewers present at the broadcast.


    In an aged but very clear voice, he began to read out the contents of the impeachment bill while all members of the Twelve looked at him with respect.


    No matter the results of the voting, this would be the last time the round table would come into use. No matter how badly news travels, the representative members knew from what they¡¯ve heard that after the passing of this critical moment, Pearson¡¯s party will begin to propose the structural reforms, and the so-called equality of the round table would forever cease to exist.


    In other words, this is the last round table meeting of the human¡¯s Federation. Mankind will enter a new era, but as for what sort of future the Federation would usher in would depend on the rise or fall of this moment.


    ¡°¡­According to the emergency regulations laid down more than two centuries ago, when the first artificial intelligence, ¡°Cocoon¡±, was born¡­When the meeting for the impeachment vote begins, which was a few minutes ago, the AI, ¡°Butterfly¡±, will enter a state of temporary hibernation as we wait for the results.¡± After he was done reading the contents of his script, Stalvern reached up and pushed away the virtual screen in front of him. ¡°Now, as the host of this voting session, I now announce the beginning of the vote, and I would like to invite my fellow colleagues to express your stance in clear language after I voice my own vote. The side that exceeds half of the votes, seven votes, will be adopted.¡±


    After he was done, he seated himself again. As the first person to vote, Stalvern kept a straight face and said without hesitation, ¡°I vote against this bill. I vote against the impeachment of the artificial intelligence, ¡®Butterfly¡¯.¡±


    On the ballot trackers prepared early on by countless of the Federation¡¯s media websites, the number 1 appeared under the words ¡°against¡±.


    The very first vote of the bill was a negative one. Even if Stalvern¡¯s stubborn opposition was fully expected, the virtual community was still in low spirits. Of course, there were a minority of people who praised the vote, but the comments were pouring in too quickly no matter what site you were on. There was no time to respond to anyone at all as everyone was busy writing their own thoughts on the vote. This actually helped to avoid a lot of unnecessary quarrels.


    The next person to vote was Pearson who sat to Stalvern¡¯s right. He slowly looked around the audience, showing a gaze that was almost peaceful and devoid of deeper thoughts underneath all the live cameras that broadcasted the scene to the entire Federation. Finally, when he saw Zhong Yan, he put on an almost odd smile as he said, ¡°There is a serious fault with the AI, so it has lost its meaning. I vote for the impeachment.¡±


    The entire world was in an uproar.


    The complexions of almost half of the people at the round table suddenly changed. Having spent more than half his life in the council, Pearson had long been skilled at hiding his emotions. After seeing his lifelong rival, Stalvern, reveal a terrible look of complete shock as he glared at him, he finally couldn¡¯t help but reveal a look of amusement. But in the next moment, his eyes peered over to the young man sitting beside Stalvern abruptly, and his exhilaration faded away like a receding tide.


    As the main member of the conservative party, as well as the person who created the so-called ¡°rebirth¡± plan which he would benefit from the most, Zhong Yan¡¯s face did not show any changes despite the fact that someone was already playing against the script on the second vote. And that person was Pearson to boot. Zhong Yan¡¯s face remained as still as the surface of an old, rippleless well.


    He was only a child in his twenties. Though he had no other capabilities, he was pretty good at putting on an act. Pearson¡¯s fun was ruined. However, thinking that his previous plan had also been destroyed by Zhong Yan outside of his expectations, he had no idea whether he had done it on purpose or not. Then, thinking back to the time when Zhong Yan, as a newcomer at that time, actually dared to separate from his reins, and switched over to his old rival¡­New and old grudges raged within his heart. Pearson was thinking that when the cameras were off, then he would have to give this young man a good explanation. He would personally tell Zhong Yan why he changed his mind. He didn¡¯t believe that Zhong Yan could still remain calm after hearing that it was his husband himself who destroyed his plans.


    ¡°I agree with the abolishment of artificial intelligence. May human autonomy be restored.¡± Vahl¡¯s voice pulled everyone back to the current situation. ¡°I vote for the bill.¡±


    There were now two votes in favor. They were already ahead of the negative votes.


    Stalvern shot Vahl a wicked glance. He felt like he was going to cough out blood in his heart. Following the process they had arranged yesterday, Vahl should indeed have voted for the bill, but someone before him changed his vote. If you truly wanted the plan to succeed and keep the AI in office, then you should have changed the vote. However, not only did Vahl not change his vote, he even brought up the slogan long hailed by the Navi System. ¡°Restore human autonomy¡±. At this moment, Vahl had completely stated his position as an anti-AI supporter.


    Several people looked at him now in a different light, but nobody would attack him in clear view of the Federation. Thus, the voting continued.


    The councilor at Vahl¡¯s left was the conservative member who was set to vote in favor of the bill yesterday. He decisively changed his vote. ¡°I vote against it.¡±


    The votes were now equal again. The fifth voter was a member of the radical party. According to the script, he should have voted against it, but he said, ¡°I support the impeachment bill.¡±


    So far, three of the first five voters changed their votes. This scene, which had originally been a performance with a planned script, had now become a game with raging currents hidden underneath it.


    The sixth vote was cast by a neutral member. Based on the script, he was supposed to vote in favor of the bill.


    After Pearson took the lead in voting for the bill, the second radical member followed. There must have been many personal dealings between Pearson and ¡°Butterfly¡±. Perhaps the public may not know it, but the Twelve surely do. But right this moment, he suddenly attacked the AI, making his own ambitions clear to all.


    The sixth person to vote, a neutral party member, hesitated for a long time. He mulled over the calculations of the votes many times¡ªLogically speaking, five councilors at the table were of the radical party. If you add Vahl into the mix, the number would only reach six. With thirteen people voting, they lack a single vote to pass the bill. Someone must have bribed Pearson to vote for this impeachment. Otherwise, if the impeachment bill was rejected and ¡°Butterfly¡± was woken up, the good days of those who voted for this bill would all come to an end.


    However, Pearson may not know that his own radical party was not completely clean. It is a shame, but it will be difficult for him to achieve seven votes today.


    This neutral party member who had survived many years with his keen ears on intelligence smirked and made his vote. ¡°I oppose the bill.¡±


    The number of votes were now three against three.


    The next three council members were made up of two radical members, and one conservative member. They also followed their respective party leaders and voted two votes for, and one against.


    The number of votes in favor to against was now five to four.


    Nobody remembered what the script was anymore, this had been turned completely into a game bubbled up from a long-running grudge. At mankind¡¯s very last round table meeting, at what could be called this era¡¯s Judgement Day, the Twelve members of this council finally broke apart in front of the entire world.


    The tenth voter was the last member of the radical party to vote. After his passing vote, the impeachment bill will go through with just one more vote.


    ¡°I vote against the bill,¡± said the last member of the radical party. He was also the last member to enter said party. ¡°I oppose the abolition of artificial intelligence.¡±


    Everyone looked at Pearson with deep expressions, only to see him widen his eyes to stare at the person who had just put out the opposing vote. He did not seem to show much emotion on his face, but if you looked closely, you could see that his gaze looked fierce enough that he could eat a person up.


    It took a few seconds before Pearson finally looked away. He and Stalvern beside him looked at each other for a moment, and Pearson was able to catch the foxy look in the latter¡¯s eyes.


    Pearson shut his eyes and forcibly resisted the urge to leave the table. He remembered that this councilor was not a member of the radical party at first. He had always been a neutral party that did not lean to any sides. That was until he was pulled in a few years ago by him and formally joined him. But it turns out that he was not a neutral member at all. He was one of Stalvern¡¯s men. This damn thing really went all out with this one. He actually used a representative member as a spy. But once this heavy mine that was buried into the ground exploded, the force was truly extraordinary¡­Pearson¡¯s eyes twitched. Just when he was barely able to keep his focus on the meeting, and when he began thinking of ways to save his skin, he suddenly heard a voice that came beyond his expectations.


    ¡°I agree to the bill.¡±


    The eleventh voter to speak, a conservative member, voted in favor.


    It was now Stalvern¡¯s turn to be surprised. He looked at him in an unfamiliar gaze. It felt like this was the first time he had seen this councilor in his entire life. Was this man Pearson¡¯s spy in the conservative party? That¡¯s impossible! Since Stalvern himself had pinned a spy at Pearson¡¯s side, he was especially wary of having the same done to him. He watched the interactions between his own party members and Pearson very tightly. So, if it really was him, how did he not find any traces at all?


    While Stalvern was still distracted, Zhong Yan looked up, seemingly inadvertently, and met Vahl¡¯s gaze diagonally across from him.


    The gazes of the two met at the center. Vahl was not a person who would be muddled over facing a setback. On the contrary, he was a very resilient man. After so many years, even if they had not been satisfactory, he had always been working hard to build his own power. This so-called conservative member who had been recruited by Stalvern after joining the round table ten years ago was his confidant.


    And with that, the votes in favor of the bill reached six. Now, only one vote was missing.

 Chapter 84 - The Thirteenth Voter

    The second last neutral member to vote was covered in cold sweat. The previous neutral member did not guess wrong.


    Last night, Pearson spoke with him in secret and promised him great benefits, and Pearson himself would take the same vote as him. But who could have expected such a setback to happen in the middle?


    What¡¯s more, he never expected the seats to be arranged in such a way. If he voted in favor, then it didn¡¯t even matter what Zhong Yan voted anymore. But at the very least, he wouldn¡¯t be the one to cast the deciding vote, right?


    The pressure of changing the future for mankind was weighing down his shoulders heavily. With sweat running down his head, his mind was in a mess and his heart was beating madly. Just as he was about to make the twelfth vote, he almost jumped in shock when he heard Stalvern call out his name coldly.


    ¡°Councilor Parser, why are you looking at Councilor Pearson? Even though we are at the final two votes, let me emphasize that everyone should vote responsibly in this meeting.¡±


    If Parser had a clear mind right now, then he would¡¯ve remembered that he had only inadvertently taken two glances at Pearson. He never stared at him at all. Unfortunately, the amount of pressure caused his vision to darken. He just thought that he was unable to control himself whilst being too nervous and that the whole world had seen it.


    If he were to continue on and make a supporting vote now, then wouldn¡¯t he be admitting to the entire world that he had an under-the-table deal with Pearson? But if he votes no, and Zhong Yan also voted no, then wouldn¡¯t he be the reason that Pearson¡¯s plans were foiled? Recalling the underhanded methods Pearson would use in private from the intelligence he gathered, Parser instantly began sweating buckets. However, he was still a representative councilor after all. He did not just throw his head in blindly.


    After thinking for a long time, Parser said with trembling lips, ¡°I¡­I abstain.¡±


    Stalvern¡¯s tight nerves finally relaxed. No matter how he thought about it, Number 11 still didn¡¯t seem like one of Pearson¡¯s men. So, Pearson definitely would not have enough votes.


    There was still one more vote to go, and the final voter was Zhong Yan. Seems like Pearson would only end with 12 votes. But as the host invited to oversee the vote, it was reasonable to say that in order to keep everything fair, he must never interrupt someone when they were about to vote. Otherwise, whether it was reasonable or not, he would still receive criticism for it afterwards.


    But just thinking that Pearson was about to get what he wanted¡­


    If you were to call the AI, ¡°Butterfly¡± a God created by the humans, then Stalvern must be his most loyal oracle. As the AI entered into a sleeping state, he and his apostles had their own designs, and just as their plans were about to turn south, his heart jumped and he took a gamble. Fortunately, he must have received the blessings of ¡°Butterfly¡± sleeping above them, because he won the gamble!


    With this, nobody would be able to achieve seven votes. Both sides will reach an equal vote. As for how they were going to deal with that situation, wouldn¡¯t he have the talking rights as the host?


    ¡°How could you abstain?!¡± The opportunity was right in front of his eyes, but who would have imagined that he would be interrupted at the very last second? Even someone with such as much power as Pearson actually could not help but go against etiquette and shouted out.


    Stalvern just interrupted someone just as they were about to vote , and now he was trying to take this opportunity to push the blame on someone else. ¡°It is his natural right to abstain, Councilor Pearson. Are you going to interfere with this man¡¯s decision?¡±


    On such a solemn occasion where the entire world was watching at the same time, the two actually shouted in public. The expressions of all the councilors at the table distorted. Members of both party were wishing to themselves that they could go over and pull their party leaders back so they would stop talking.


    Fortunately, they had only lost themselves for a short instant. It was only natural that Pearson understood what sort of occasion this was as well. He had said his piece. The more he tries to speak, the worse everything will become. Even if he hated it and had much to say in rebuttal, he could only squeeze out a sentence from his teeth. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Stalvern also knew that this was not the time for arguments. So, he ignored Pearson and straightened his figure before speaking solemnly to everyone. ¡°If that is the case, then the results of our vote¡­¡±


    ¡°Councilor Yate, I have not voted yet.¡± The thirteenth member of the round table who had not spoken from beginning to end suddenly spoke.


    That¡¯s right, Zhong Yan had yet to vote. This entire plan had been designed by Zhong Yan to begin with, so he always counted in Zhong Yan¡¯s vote by default. Just now, he was so muddled by Pearson¡¯s words that he nearly announced the votes as a draw.


    ¡°I know,¡± he spoke in a soft tone, but his heart was filled with dissatisfaction. He was angry that Zhong Yan did not remind him in a nicer way. ¡°I was just about to say that the result of this vote will be decided by Councilor Zhong Yan¡¯s vote.¡±


    After saying that, he looked subconsciously to the young man at his side, and Zhong Yan happened to turn his head and looked at him too. After their gazes met, Zhong Yan suddenly smiled. The smile was not obvious, but the slight raise at the corners of his lips clearly showed its owner¡¯s good mood.


    At this moment, Stalvern¡¯s heart was put back to ease. That¡¯s right, the plan had not been destroyed so Zhong Yan must be relieved as well. But a draw¡­Was that anything worth being happy about? He had never seen a genuine smile from this man in his life. And strangely¡­A spark of suspicion arose in Stalvern¡¯s mind.


    That smile was only a fleeting affair. Zhong Yan moved his gaze away, and, unexpectedly, he stood up.


    ¡°It is a lucky day today.¡± The youngest member of the representing council spoke. He moved his left hand over to touch his bulging pocket at the right side of his suit. That there was the rabbit tail charm he made from the lucky rabbit foot¡¯s fur that Adrian had passed to him last night.


    This was the first time Zhong Yan had appeared before the public since he was married. Everyone could see that a wide silver ring adorning the ring finger of his fair and slender left hand. It was the very same one worn by Navi¡¯s Supreme Commander at the beginning of the year when he attended the event at Lebor. They could guess that it must be a wedding ring.


    ¡°And the fortune of today, is the fortune of my own, and all my fellow brethren all over the world.¡±


    What do you mean the fortune of your fellow brethren?! Stalvern raised his head to the handsome side profile of this young man standing beside him. A bad feeling quickly expanded inside of his chest.


    ¡°At the artificial intelligence impeachment bill, the current votes numbered six votes in favor, five against, and one abstained. According to the rules, the party whose opinion achieves seven votes will be adopted.¡± The live smart camera slowly descended and stopped at a height parallel to Zhong Yan¡¯s line of sight. The entire world had turned silent and everyone was holding their breaths.


    ¡°And the thirteenth vote, is a yes.¡±


    On the final day, God¡¯s last apostle announced His death sentence.


    The universe seems to have restarted as countless planets came back to life at this moment.


    The Navi Military Command¡¯s headquarters that had just been so quiet you could hear a pin drop suddenly erupted in cheers. All the soldiers gathered in the hall to watch the live broadcast embraced each other in excitement as they shouted in joy. On the other end, Fayn who was sitting inside the adjutant¡¯s office¡¯s office breathed a sigh of relief. He had been holding his breath for so long that he accidentally choked and began coughing.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, deputy commander?¡± He had two virtual screens in front of him. One was displaying the scene of the round table meeting. And, at this moment, all the aged members were seated at the table with shock on their faces. On the other screen, a handsome man dressed in a white coat could be seen. When he heard Fayn cough, he looked over to the camera with concern, ¡°Did you catch a cold?¡±


    ¡°No no, just something in my throat. Don¡¯t worry about it, doctor,¡± Fayn quickly explained. But his heart was filled with contentment. The very first question Wei Lan asked him after such an earth-shattering moment was why he coughed. It almost felt as if that was more important than the great event that had just occurred. Though Fayn knew that Wei Lan likely did not actually think that way. His brain was just wired a little differently than the others.


    Right now, they were still calling each other by their titles. For Wei Lan, he had never considered that an issue, while for Fayn, he was still extremely shy in the face of love and didn¡¯t have the guts to bring it up himself.


    However, thinking that Wei Lan would always be a doctor, and that Adrian was still alive and kicking, with no room for him to be promoted, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for now.


    ¡°What¡¯s that noise over on your side?¡± Fayn asked when he heard the commotion from Wei Lan¡¯s side.


    ¡°The students at the Supreme Institution are celebrating.¡±


    Wei Lan stood up and looked down the window to see the ecstatic young kids pouring out of the dorm. Soon, he saw a tall boy being surrounded by the crowd. That was the current student council president of the Supreme Institution. A few days ago when they just landed, many of the trivial matters were arranged by that boy so Wei Lan remembered him well. Everyone threw him up high while the students and patrolling soldiers from Navi also went over to join in on the fun. The entire campus was filled with laughter.


    The same festivities took place in every corner of the Federation. Everyone had walked out to the streets to congratulate the strangers who had gone through these difficult times with them. In an era where everything can be solved without leaving the house, nobody could remember the last time they had experienced such a scene anymore.


    When Zhong Yan walked out of the meeting room, he was slightly stunned.


    The impeachment bill was passed. The supreme council system commanded by ¡°Butterfly¡± has now collapsed and was in utter chaos. The eighth floor meeting room that should have been clear was now filled with council members. They were all dressed formally for work so it was a sea of black. As soon as the door opened, and they saw Zhong Yan standing at the entrance, all of them stepped back subconsciously to make a path for him. Intron squeezed out of the crowd and went to his side.


    Zhong Yan had his chin slightly raised as he left the eighth floor calmly with his assistant under the different gazes of the councilors around them. Just after reaching the floor where his office was located, someone stopped him before he could enter.


    It was Bard Pearson.


    ¡°Councilor Zhong, why are you leaving so soon? You disappeared before any of us could react,¡± Bard Pearson said with a false smile. Relief and pride that could hardly be held back could be heard in his voice. ¡°I came just to thank you, Councilor Zhong Yan. It seems the many benefits of human autonomy have also been imbued into your mind after being with Commander Yate. That must be the reason for your conscientiousness today. As for whoever is going to be governing this ¡®human autonomy¡¯¡­Hahaha, I¡¯ll give my thanks in advance.¡±


    Zhong Yan put on a smile and said, ¡°Can a man who is suspected for murder still qualifiy to run for president?¡±


    Pearson did not expect that he would not let go of that at all. He actually put that out in front of their two assistants. His eyes instantly dimmed and turned fierce as a strange laugh escaped his lips. ¡°What nonsense are you saying, Councilor Zhong? Why don¡¯t I let you in on a secret? The Supreme Commander of Navi is now in the Capital¡ªAh, you probably know that as well. But did you know that I met with him yesterday morning?¡±

 Chapter 85 - What a Shame

    Zhong Yan did not continue on with the topic. Instead, the smile at his lips lightened a little. It looked as if he could not keep up his smile any longer. This pleased Pearson very much. He went on obnoxiously, ¡°Why don¡¯t you guess what he was seeing me for? I had only learned yesterday myself that this Yate family brat really has quite the fancy for you. He actually tried to threaten me with a photo of Qu Yongyi¡¯s body, telling me that I¡¯ll end up just like him if I ever dared to touch you. Hahahaha, I won¡¯t lie, I actually laughed right then and there.¡±


    The surveillance system of the Supreme Council communicates directly to the ninth floor and currently, ¡°Butterfly¡± who resided there was dormant so the surveillance system was completely nonfunctional. The more he spoke, the more unrestrained Pearson became. ¡°Why do you think they say that soldiers are all a brainless lot? He broke into my home and said that Qu Yongyi passed him evidence before he died, and he would show that to the whole world if I tried to do anything to you. Hahaha, could the both of you really have endured so long if you actually had the evidence? Sure enough, I was able to figure out that he was just talking smack after trying to probe him. Councilor Zhong Yan, you said that it was a lucky day just now, but if I had to say it, then yesterday was also my lucky day. If your good husband hadn¡¯t come to threaten me then I really couldn¡¯t have been sure whether you had the evidence or not. But since you don¡¯t have it, what should I be afraid of? You can¡¯t get anywhere without taking risks, right?¡±


    Much to Pearson¡¯s pleasure, a frown gradually emerged in Zhong Yan¡¯s brows as he listened to him speak. He was just about to take another jab at him, but Zhong Yan suddenly sighed and lamented, ¡°What a pity. It would¡¯ve been nice if I was present.¡±


    Pearson laughed agreeingly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right? Councilor Zhong. I really am thankful that it was him, though. If you came, then I really wouldn¡¯t have the confidence to tell whether you were lying or not. After all, as men of our careers, we¡¯re really not that far off from a professional actor.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that,¡± Zhong Yan denied it, but he did not explain either. ¡°What did he say exactly when he threatened you not to touch me?¡±


    There were so many important things he could have asked, and yet he asked something that was completely irrelevant. Pearson was stunned, and also extremely displeased like he had just been punching at a sack of air.


    Pearson said, ¡°Who would remember? That was just about what he said anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, if only I was there.¡± Zhong Yan sighed again. ¡°He must have been very handsome when he said that. It¡¯s such a pity that I never got to see it.¡±


    Intron could not hold himself back and let out a snicker from behind Zhong Yan.


    Only now did Pearson realize that Zhong Yan was playing him, and his face turned green in an instant. He took another glance at these two juniors. Though each was younger than the other, these ignorant juniors held no trace of fear or respect. Now that the artificial intelligence has stepped off the stage, he was the strongest candidate to become the president. He will soon obtain power even greater than what he had before, so how dare this brat treat him this way! In an instant, the flames of anger raged up within him and he raised his right palm up high, swatting it down towards Zhong Yan¡¯s face.


    Who could¡¯ve ever expected that after the monitoring system was disabled, someone like Pearson who maintained an image of decency in daily life would raise his hands against another person. Intron was so shocked that the blood drained from his face and he was just about to go forward to stop him. But, a strong hand had caught Pearson¡¯s wrist in a death grip even quicker than he could move.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Pearson let out a cry. His assistant was completely dumbfounded by the man who had suddenly rushed over. He stood in place, not daring to go forward. Only after Pearson had screamed for quite a few seconds did he finally wake up as if he had been in a dream and followed on with a shout, ¡°What are you doing?! Let go of Sir Pearson!¡±


    They were making a lot of ruckus and the entire floor consisted of offices. One after another, all the councilors came out to see what was going on. Zhong Yan tugged at the clothes of the man who stood on guard in front of him, giving him a soft reminder, ¡°Ade, people are coming.¡±


    Only then did Adrian shove the man off with disdain. Pearson was pushed back two steps and it was only with the help of his assistant holding him up that he did not fall to his butt on the ground. He gripped his right wrist with his other hand, unsure whether his bones had been crushed or not. He was completely pissed. ¡°Very well! Just you wait, Adrian Yate! I will sue you until you go bankrupt!¡±


    Adrian had been in the army for so many years so his habits were completely different from these councilors who always had to bend around the bushes when they spoke. He straight out yelled at the man. ¡°Lay off, you old bugger! Does my warning from yesterday mean nothing to you? If you¡¯re so anxious to see your ancestors, I can send you off right now!¡±


    And who had ever dared to point their fingers at his nose and yell at him in such a rude way in Pearson¡¯s whole life? All his blood gushed to his head in an instant and he was so angry that he had gone speechless.


    Zhong Yan reached over to pat Adrian¡¯s chest to calm him down while he tugged at his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, just ignore him. Let¡¯s go back to my office.¡±


    Adrian took his hand but did not leave with him. Instead, he stood in place and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already know what I said? Why ask him?¡±


    Clearly, Zhong Yan could tell that he was still grumpy with his words. He smiled helplessly at him and asked, ¡°How should I know what you said to him?¡±


    ¡°I followed your script down to the very last syllable!¡± Adrian enunciated his words very clearly. He did not speak very loudly, but it was enough for Pearson to hear. While speaking, he glanced over at Pearson while a provoking smile curved his lips. ¡°I was even worrying that it might not work, but I didn¡¯t expect this guy to take a U-turn immediately that afternoon! Everything went just as you said.¡±


    Script?


    Pearson¡¯s heart sank, but he quickly calmed himself down. They were speaking right in front of Zhong Yan¡¯s office and Adrian had come out from there earlier. It was likely he must have heard him through the door and this could even be a ploy he thought up on the go to trick him. He swept a cold glance at the councilors around them, and being glared in such a way, none of those councilors dared to step forward. Only then did Pearson step forward. Forebodingly, he muttered under his breath, ¡°Just cut the act. If you really had the evidence that I¡¯d hired hitmen, then why didn¡¯t you release the evidence earlier?¡±


    Zhong Yan chuckled. ¡°Perhaps we were just looking for a good opportunity, like¡­right now.¡±


    ¡°If I were you I¡¯d pack up my things right now and get out of here,¡± Adrian said with a dangerous silver glint in his eyes. ¡°And you better run far. Don¡¯t let me catch you too quickly.¡±


    ¡°What are you say¡­¡± Before Pearson could finish, his assistant had looked up from checking the news on his terminal and tugged at his arm in panic. ¡°Sir! It¡¯s bad, the police headquarters just issued an arrest warrant for you for¡­for¡­¡±


    But he could not say it. Pearson had already seen the contents of what was written on his screen and his eyes had gone so wide that they had nearly popped out of their sockets. He couldn¡¯t even bother about bickering with those two and quickly led his assistant away from the crowd.¡±


    ¡°I really hope he does manage to escape,¡± Adrian said as he stared at their backs. He had done Zhong Yan so much wrong, and in his opinion, he should be paying him back, a tooth for a tooth¡­


    Zhong Yan glanced at the people littered around the place and said to them, ¡°Go back to your work.¡±


    He had just decided the future of humanity with one vote, nobody dared to talk back to him right now, much less Navi Military Command¡¯s God of Death standing next to him that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. In no time, all the onlookers scattered and Intron had also proclaimed, ¡°I shall get busy with my work then, Sir Zhong.¡±


    ¡°Watch the door. I¡¯m not seeing anyone today, tell them to go to you if they need anything,¡± Zhong Yan ordered him. Intron gave his acknowledgement and headed for his own desk.


    ¡°We might be here for a long time today.¡± Zhong Yan took Adrian¡¯s arm and entered the office with him. ¡°With the impeachment bill passed, I¡¯m sure you have many things you have to deal with on your side as well. It must be inconvenient for you to work here, so why don¡¯t you head back for now? I told you nothing would happen but you just had to follow me. Now look, it hasn¡¯t even been a few minutes and the entire world knows you¡¯re in the Capital.¡±


    Adrian had been smuggled in by him after he disguised himself as one of his bodyguards. With Pearson bringing his bodyguards to work as a precedent, and ¡°Butterfly¡± already entering a dormant state this morning, it wasn¡¯t too hard getting him in.


    Adrian had originally persuaded Zhong Yan to bring him just in case the impeachment bill fails. He would knock Zhong Yan out before bringing him away, but now that the bill was passed, that plan was now useless. Moreover, there was no need for Zhong Yan to know that. Adrian spoke to him tenderly, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call a guard to come. I¡¯ll return after he arrives to replace me.¡±


    Zhong Yan never got to go home for that entire day. He had been busying about in the council house until morning the next day and he was unable to even find any time to contact Adrian in between. On one hand, it was due to what a sensitive moment it was currently. Both of them had thousands of things that required their attention. On another hand, all the news reported throughout the entire day were follow-ups on the actions of the council houses, the military, and other parties. All they needed to do was look at the news to know what the other was busy with.


    Before the impeachment vote, poll results showed that more than 80% of the population believed that the impeachment case would not pass. If the scope of the survey was narrowed down to members on the hull of various important social institutions such as police stations, schools, research institutes, and etc., the numbers would probably rise significantly. But despite the fact that they all believed that ¡°Butterfly¡± would be woken up from its slumber, who could have guessed that it would end up sleeping forever? Whether these people were happy about it or dissatisfied, they all had the same response: nobody knew what to do.


    Fortunately, Zhong Yan and Vahl had long prepared a detailed and comprehensive plan for the transition. As soon as the meeting ended, both of their teams began the transitional work and only then was order maintained, and society remained functional.


    News after news had overrun everyone¡¯s minds. First there was news that Adrian Yate had appeared in the Capital¡¯s Supreme Council and had a public dispute with Bard Pearson. The news of the assassination case came soon after that which included Qu Yongyi¡¯s evidence and testimony taken before his death which pointed to Pearson as the instigator. Some had also speculated that ¡°Butterfly¡± would be abolished in the morning and that Pearson was the most likely person to become president. But who could have even imagined that the Capital Police Force would inform everyone just this afternoon that the most promising candidate for president had been arrested for a trial?


    It was now past midnight and the most urgent matters they had on hand had been resolved. When Intron saw Zhong Yan packing up and getting ready to leave, he quickly stopped him. ¡°Sir Zhong, why don¡¯t you wait for a while before you leave? The door¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the door?¡± Zhong Yan asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sir Yate, Sir Stalvern Yate, I mean. He came over again and says he wants to see you no matter what,¡± Intron informed him helplessly. ¡°Commander Yate¡¯s guards are trying to stop him, and you¡¯ll definitely see him if you went out now.¡±


    Zhong Yan broke out in laughter. ¡°I¡¯ll see him if I see him then, what kind of position do you think we¡¯re in today? Do I have any need to be afraid of him?¡±


    While speaking, he continued towards the door and headed out of his office, only to see Stalvern blocking the entrance to his office area immediately after. He was pointing at a young guard and yelling, ¡°Who do you think you are? Telling me I can¡¯t insult your boss. Well, I will insult him! I raised him with my own hands! He is my grandson! And you¡¯re telling me I can¡¯t do that?! Is he in there? Is Zhong Yan inside of that room? Go in and call him out right now. I want to see him!¡±


    The young guard who had exchanged ages with Intron yesterday was so pissed that his face was beet red. His eyes were so filled with anger that you could almost see the flames, and he looked like he was on the cusp of exploding. Zhong Yan quickly headed over with Intron.

 Chapter 86 - Confession

    When Stalvern saw Zhong Yan coming over from the distance, he thought he had come to see him. Just as the questions and scoldings he had kept bubbling inside of him this whole day were about to come out, Zhong Yan casually said to the bodyguard as if he did not see him, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir Zhong,¡± the young guard responded. Then, he glared viciously at Stalvern again while he guarded Zhong Yan vigilantly. His posture almost made it seem like he was worried Stalvern would pounce over to attack Zhong Yan at any moment.


    Stalvern was pissed but he would never do something like chasing after someone for a tussle. One of the Yate family¡¯s juniors, a man about the age of thirty or so, was accompanying him. He had silver eyes, a definite sign of their ancestry. Held back by that junior, he followed behind them, yelling, ¡°Zhong Yan! Do you not dare to speak with me anymore? You tricked my grandson seven years ago, and now you¡¯re here to trick me seven years later?!¡±


    Such level of ridicule was simply nothing to Zhong Yan. While Intron was thinking so, Zhong Yan suddenly stopped.


    Intron was shocked. What¡¯s going on?


    Zhong Yan turned around and looked coldly at Stalvern for a moment before he ordered, ¡°Intron, contact security and tell them to change the permissions on the council¡¯s entrance. Sir Stalvern Yate is no longer allowed to enter from tomorrow onwards.¡±


    The one thing he hated most in his life was to be accused of tricking Adrian. He could only bear with it before, but now that the situation was set, he had no reason to continue enduring it.


    Intron quickly accepted the order while Stalvern was in disbelief. ¡°Have you gone mad?! Do you really think you can change the permissions to the entrance however you please?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps not in the past, but now¡­¡± Zhong Yan smiled to Stalvern, ¡°I really do have that right. If you do not believe me, why don¡¯t you try and see if you can enter tomorrow? But I shall advise you against the idea. Things are busy enough these days and if you insist on adding to the chaos, I may have to ask the police to take the necessary measures to deal with you. I have no contempt nor grievances towards you. If you stay at home and focus on your retirement, then I will not come seeking trouble with you either. For what reason do we have to trouble each other in such a way?¡±


    It had been many years since anyone dared to speak to him in such an uppity tone. Stalvern felt extremely offended, but his reason told him that what Zhong Yan said was true.


    During the day, after the emergency transition plans were launched in several areas, the police department arrested Pearson in a thunderous affair. The identity of the people involved in this huge case was a little sensitive, but the police department acted quickly. Even Stalvern thought it was odd. He tried to enquire about the news and finally received one vague response. Someone that they cannot afford to provoke was suppressing the information.


    Who could be someone with so much power just hours after the Federation entered the ¡°Post-AI era¡± that even the police department would not dare to provoke them? Was it the Supreme Commander of the Navi Military Command and its troops? Or¡­


    The emergency transition plan¡¯s executors were Vahl and Zhong Yan, so all the work must be carried around the two of them. In just a single day, the peak of the Federation¡¯s power had changed. Everyone in the council knew that the position of President, vacant for over hundreds of years, may now fall on one of the two.


    And this was the reason why Zhong Yan could so easily ask for the permissions on the council¡¯s entrance to be changed. In this society where the weak were trampled, and the powerful revered, nobody would dare to help Stalvern who had given the rejection vote when it came to provoking Zhong Yan who was likely to become the President.


    Stalvern¡¯s complexion turned green and pale. Finally, his spirits fell. When Zhong Yan saw that he finally understood the current situation, he didn¡¯t want to continue getting caught up with him anymore. After turning around and walking for a few steps, he could faintly hear Stalvern speaking to the young man beside him. ¡°Ford, let¡¯s go¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s footsteps paused. Then, he continued to leave in a quick stride as if he did not hear anything.


    In this whole entire world, only he and ¡°Butterfly¡± knew this fact. After ¡°Butterfly¡± entered its sleep, he was the only one left. At that time, the name of his original partner was¡­Ford Yate.


    To tell the truth, the only reason why Zhong Yan remembered this name was credited to his good memory. After all, after so many years, he could still easily say the full name of Adrian¡¯s birth father when asked. Not even the author could do so without backtracking. But Zhong Yan had never paid attention to this person. This was the first time he had any sort of contact with him. The reason why Stalvern could get that man to stay by his side must be the fact that he was the closest blood-related member of his family¡­Zhong Yan thought with an agitated mind, the upper social circle of the Capital really was too small.


    Adrian could keenly sense that Zhong Yan who had returned before daybreak was not in good spirits.


    Even though Zhong Yan was still as gentle as ever when he spoke to him, he got ready for bed before either of them were able to say much. After all, he still had to get up early to continue his work tomorrow. But Adrian was still able to catch hints of hesitation and irritation on Zhong Yan¡¯s face several times that day.


    He perceived that Zhong Yan was different from his usual mood, and Adrian actually felt a little happy about that. One had to understand that the incident that broke them apart seven years ago had not been paved over yet. Zhong Yan had struggled with himself for half a year while Adrian who lived under the same roof as him knew nothing of it. But now, he could easily see through Zhong Yan¡¯s emotions. This showed him that Zhong Yan was now completely unguarded before him.


    But why was Zhong Yan in such low spirits right now? Adrian was puzzled.


    The voices of the anti-AI are now the norm so those who voted ¡®no¡¯ in the meeting naturally lost their competitive power. On the other hand, all the people voting in favor were mostly Pearson¡¯s men, and now that their leader was in prison, their reputation fell with him. Zhong Yan was the initiator of the impeachment bill, and the one to give the final winning vote. His partner was also the Supreme Commander of the Navi Military Command. Even if the Supreme Commander¡¯s true partner for President was Vahl and not Zhong Yan, the public had no way of knowing this. They all felt that Zhong Yan was the one with the Navi Military Command¡¯s backing. Even if he was a little young, he was still a strong candidate to become the president.


    For Zhong Yan, that should have been a very ideal situation.


    It wasn¡¯t Adrian¡¯s style to leave a problem hanging when he found one. So, after the two of them got in bed after their shower, Adrian was determined to ask Zhong Yan what was bothering him before he laid down to sleep.


    ¡°Xiao Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°Ade¡­¡±


    The two of them spoke at the same time. After a second, both of them said at the same time, ¡°You go first.¡±


    ¡°Is something bothering you today?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°You seemed pretty unhappy since you came back. Are things not going well on your end?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked at Adrian, feeling surprised. He shook his head. ¡°No, but I¡­do have something to tell you.¡±


    Adrian had been leaning back on his pillow, but hearing that, he sat up to show that he was listening seriously.


    But Zhong Yan kept on hesitating. There was a look of struggle in his eyes but Adrian did not urge him. However, the doubts in his heart grew stronger and stronger. What is it that makes it so difficult for Zhong Yan to speak about?


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhong Yan seemed to have made a determination as he took a deep breath. He asked, ¡°Can your salary be credited to my account in the future? To my private account. The one you don¡¯t have permission to access.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Adrian readily agreed. Right in front of Zhong Yan, he logged into the system of the Navi Military Command¡¯s headquarters and changed his payment account to Zhong Yan¡¯s private account. After he was done, he asked with a smile, ¡°My salary is my only source of income now. What am I going to use in the future? Will you be giving me an allowance every month?¡±


    Zhong Yan looked still at him without any amusement on his face. The smile on Adrian¡¯s lips gradually dissipated as well. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to confess to you about. You never asked me this in the past and I never mentioned it, but I¡¯m ready to tell you now. It¡¯s not like I suddenly feel¡­guilty or whatever. It¡¯s just¡­I found out today that the risk of that matter getting exposed was too great, and I can¡¯t bear the consequences. I¡¯d rather tell you now and maybe you¡­won¡¯t be as angry¡­¡± The more he said, the less confidence he had, almost as if he was making an extravagant request.


    Adrian was finally getting a little worried and he became even more confused. Quickly, he probed, ¡°So what is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not even¡­your actual optimal marriage partner.¡± When he said that, Zhong Yan felt his heart empty out. He didn¡¯t even dare to look at Adrian and kept his gaze down, forcing himself to continue. ¡°I had no other choice at that time. I haven¡¯t been able to contact you for seven years, and in the final two, I couldn¡¯t even find any news about you. When I made that list to lure you to the school, I became worried that you would not talk to me when we met. That was why I went to ¡®Butterfly¡¯ and had you changed as my optimal marriage partner instead. I even had it arranged so that it would be announced during the celebration, that way we would have something to talk about¡­¡±


    There had never been any optimal marriage partner. When you look back to it now, it may look like a romantic coincidence, but this was all part of his deliberate arrangements. What would Adrian think of him? He always hated these things. Now that he found out that someone was pulling the strings for this marriage to begin with, would he still want to continue?


    A crystalline droplet fell onto the blanket, staining it with a wet spot. Adrian was so surprised that Zhong Yan was crying that he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to ask questions anymore. He quickly cupped Zhong Yan¡¯s face, and when he saw the redness at the corners of his eyes and those tears, his heart felt so pained that he quickly held him tight to coax him better.


    ¡°Shh, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t cry, Xiao Yan.¡± Adrian pressed him to his chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry¡­Just seeing you cry makes my heart break¡­¡±


    With a sobbing voice, Zhong Yan anxiously said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ade. Don¡¯t be angry. You can have whatever you want, just please don¡¯t divorce me. It¡¯ll also be very difficult to divorce in the future if one of the partners is unwilling. You¡¯ll need to file a divorce lawsuit and the cost is very high. And you¡¯ve also given me your salary¡­¡±


    Once a person has owned the ocean, they can no longer bear the desert. He knew he had become a bad person again. He would use whatever means he could just to keep Adrian by his side, as well as this marriage. But this method was also full of loopholes. Adrian still had a lot of valuable property and no matter how bad of shape he was in, he still had many rich friends¡­


    But just as Zhong Yan¡¯s words were becoming more and more desperate, Adrian caught his jaw and forced Zhong Yan to look at him, interrupting him. ¡°You can fill me in on this knowledge that I¡¯ll never have to use later.¡±


    His silver irises glowed with fury underneath the dim light. ¡°What do you mean you ¡®changed¡¯ me as your optimal marriage partner?! Aren¡¯t I clearly your optimal marriage partner? That thing dares to say I¡¯m not?! What kind of garbage system does the AI use to determine that? I¡¯ve always believed its existence was a mistake, but I never thought it was a fool as well.¡±


    Zhong Yan was dazed as he watched him spit out a chain of insults towards AI. The development of this conversation seemed to be different than what he was expecting.

 Chapter 87 - Mystery

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry with me?¡± Zhong Yan was in disbelief.


    Adrian reached out to pinch Zhong Yan¡¯s cheek. ¡°To tell you the truth, the reason I never mentioned this matter to you is because it makes me feel uncomfortable that our marriage was arranged by ¡®Butterfly¡¯. But now that I know that¡¯s not true, it makes me feel much better.¡±


    Zhong Yan suddenly felt like the skies had cleared up after a big storm. He leaned back into Adrian¡¯s arms and wiped away the tears left on his face with embarrassment.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you liked me in the beginning, and I never thought we really could get married. Ever since that unexpected marriage, I¡¯ve always been wondering how I should tell you this if you ever asked. I don¡¯t want to lie to you and I¡¯ll definitely tell you the truth, but you¡¯d definitely get angry. I thought that if you never asked me for the rest of your life, then I would bring it with me to my grave.¡±


    When Adrian heard this, his expression suddenly flickered. He suddenly remembered how he never planned to tell Zhong Yan about his original plans of coming to the Capital either. Not noticing the abnormality in his expression, Zhong Yan continued, ¡°But today, we gave the technical department the authorization to open ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ database. Vahl contacted me this afternoon and proposed that we publish the records for all the meetings held on the ninth floor to fight the rest of our competitors, and ensure that the position of president would only be left to me and him. But I refused. Indeed, there are many shocking things to be found about those radical members in the records, but me and Vahl aren¡¯t completely clean either. Both me and him have records that are related to you, even. So it¡¯ll be better for us not to hurt ourselves trying to hurt our enemies.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­Both of you have records that are related to me?¡± Adrian asked, amazed. ¡°You went up there to arrange for our wedding, but what did Uncle Vahl do?¡±


    Zhong Yan was also surprised. ¡°You actually don¡¯t know? More than ten years ago he went against the law and erased your penalty records from school. I had a look at it and¡­Anyway, if we really publish that, then the entire world would know that you had a fight with two of your seniors when you were in your teens, and even had to rely on your uncle who is a member of the Twelve to evade punishment.¡±


    Adrian whose memories of the past had been fished up inexplicably was speechless.


    So there actually was punishment for that incident! He had no idea!


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°Actually, a child¡¯s fight is no serious matter. The only problem is that students with penalties will definitely not be able to be assigned to the Supreme Institution by ¡®Butterfly¡¯. I¡¯m worried that if word gets out, your eligibility for admission into the school would be questioned.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing he erased it for me.¡± Feeling worried for the past, Adrian said, ¡°If I never entered the Supreme Institution, then I would never have met you.¡±


    Zhong Yan shot him a vexing glance. ¡°I¡¯m being serious here.¡±


    Seriously, Adrian responded, ¡°I am also being serious. Alright, alright. Let¡¯s go back to the topic. Since you¡¯ve already decided not to publish it, why did you suddenly decide to tell me this today?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll probably end up mentioning it some day. Also, I bumped into that, uh¡­That person. Let me think¡­¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Adrian asked subconsciously. Suddenly, he understood who Zhong Yan was talking about and he was instantly displeased. ¡°You met him? At the council house? Was it someone you know? A colleague? What¡¯s his name? How is your relationship with him usually?¡±


    Looking at his offended expression, Zhong Yan didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. ¡°He¡¯s not someone I know. I don¡¯t even know what he looks like, but you should be the one who knows him.¡±


    After he mentioned it vaguely, Adrian gritted his teeth and said, ¡°That¡¯s the eldest grandson of my grandfather¡¯s younger brother. My cousin. I¡¯m going to the Yate family home tomorrow¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Zhong Yan quickly pulled at his clothes. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re the only ones who know the situation. Wouldn¡¯t you just blow things out of proportion if you confronted your grandfather with that? What¡¯s more, there¡¯s nothing to confront him about anyway. Just think about it, that¡¯s all in the past and we¡¯re married now. No matter who it was, I still would¡¯ve replaced him with you, so don¡¯t be angry¡­¡±


    He had to calm him down for quite a while before he managed to convince Adrian to dispel his idea of barging into the Yate family home. Only, even when the two had fallen asleep in each other¡¯s arms, Adrian was still cursing the AI, displeased, and he was even holding Zhong Yan tighter than usual as if he was afraid that he would run off.


    After many years, when Adrian and Zhong Yan happened to be shopping at the Capital one day, they happened to bump into Ford Yate and his party. They were walking towards each other in a narrow road with nowhere to avoid each other from. Ford gave his greetings to Adrian, and when Zhong Yan saw his silver eyes, he asked Adrian, ¡°Is this your relative?¡±


    Adrian glanced at Ford, displeased, and answered, ¡°One of my cousins.¡±


    It was said that Ford complained to his friends after the matter, saying that Adrian had forgotten all his past feelings. He had followed after him everyday calling him big brother when he was three or four, but now he was demoted to ¡°one of his cousins¡±.


    On the third day of the successful impeachment, the technical department reported several very serious issues to the few councilors who were acting as interim agents for the societal transition.


    ¡°What do you mean the permissions can¡¯t be revoked?¡± Vahl frowned.


    Zhong Yan followed with a question. ¡°So to be clear, which of ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ permissions exactly can¡¯t be cancelled?¡±


    The technician wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, ¡°There is a considerable part of the military-related permissions we are unable to cancel. Including¡­the authorization for all anti-material, biochemical, and nuclear weapons.¡±


    The entire meeting room fell into dead silence. After a few seconds, one councilor asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you just shut down ¡®Butterfly¡± permanently? If you can make sure that it never wakes up, then it wouldn¡¯t matter how many of these permissions it has.¡±


    The technician shook his head and said, ¡°Indeed, shutting down the AI permanently is the most straightforward approach, but it is precisely because we do not have the authority to shut down ¡®Butterfly¡¯ permanently that we had to turn off its permissions one by one. Based on the data file from a hundred years ago that we reviewed from the research institute, the permissions to shutdown ¡®Butterfly¡¯ permanently was given only to a single person, and that was ¡®Cocoon¡¯.¡±


    Several of the people who were present at the meeting were shocked, and one of them couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°But that¡¯s not a ¡®person¡¯, is it?¡±


    Vahl asked, ¡°So only ¡®Cocoon¡¯ has the permissions to shut ¡®Butterfly¡¯ down? But hasn¡¯t ¡®Cocoon¡¯ been abandoned as early as the last century?¡±


    ¡°According to the records we found in the archives, that is in fact the case. But we don¡¯t even know how they dealt with everything back then, or whether it can still be rebooted. After checking, we found out that the files related to ¡®Cocoon¡¯ were far too few. Most of the data within the research institute was on ¡®Butterfly¡¯, and it was the data that came from before its creation.¡±


    ¡°But what if we destroy the main server directly by force? As in, destroying it physically?¡± Zhong Yan asked.


    The technician said, ¡°That¡¯s possible, but that will bring about a new set of problems. First, we have to find out where the physical location of ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain is.¡±


    Several of the councilors were stunned. The technician slapped himself on the forehead and said, ¡°Oh, please excuse me. Industry terminologies. We call the main server for the super AI the AI¡¯s ¡®brain¡¯. As long as it is not declared brain dead, then it is still living. I¡¯m not great with medical terms, but that should be it, probably.¡±


    Vahl asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain up there?¡± He pointed a finger above. Everyone understood that he was talking about the ninth floor of the Supreme Council¡¯s main building.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we thought at first, but we checked over the place yesterday and at best, the ninth floor can only be considered¡­How should I describe it? If we *had* to make an analogy, um, then it was probably it¡¯s limbs? And you can also add half a heart in there. Destroying it completely can already be considered a serious injury.¡±


    Everyone felt chills running down their backs. One councilor said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to metaphorize it as a human body, do you?¡±


    ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t understand if I used technical terms.¡± Helplessly, the young technician said, ¡°¡®Butterfly¡¯ has already been completed for close to a hundred years, and no related records were made after its completion. We can only do our own checks to find out its current status, there is not original data. This is a seriously difficult case.¡±


    ¡°The lack of data is quite suspicious. Could ¡®Butterfly¡¯ be the one who destroyed them?¡± Vahl speculated. ¡°It has been preparing for this day for a long time now.¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°But more importantly, how much time do we have? How long can we keep ¡®Butterfly¡¯ in a dormant state?¡±


    ¡°Seven days,¡± the technician responded. ¡°Once seven day passes, ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ emergency protection module will boot up and wake it from hibernation. It¡¯s already been three days.¡±


    Everyone on the scene knitted their brows. Would they have to negotiate with ¡®Butterfly¡¯ after it wakes up? Humans have already decided to abolish it, so that would most definitely not be a very friendly negotiation, especially when the negotiating party holds enough power to overpower the Federation¡¯s authority to launch their heavy weapons. There was no need for this negotiation to be had at all, because the humans do not have the bargaining chips for it. They were doomed to fail.


    So what can they do before the AI wakes up again? Destroying the ninth floor of the Supreme Council seems to be a palliative move. What¡¯s more, if they are unable to stop ¡°Butterfly¡± from waking up, would destroying the ninth floor aggravate it further?


    ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± brain, its mainframe, was not inside the ninth floor. So where could it be? And where was ¡®Cocoon¡¯ that had been abandoned a century ago?


    Nobody could answer those questions, nor could anyone make a decision. The person who could make the decisions on behalf of all human beings needs to be a responsible person, of course. But before that, they needed the power to make this decision.


    ¡°I think the need to elect an interim president is imminent,¡± Vahl said. ¡°We are in desperate need of a person who can make decisions. Everything happening these past two days is just the same as today, we are forced to gather in a meeting where we will inevitably butt heads, and we will often find ourselves restricting each other¡­The efficacy is too slow and we can¡¯t afford to wait.¡±


    Zhong Yan raised his head to meet his gaze, speaking without showing his emotions, ¡°What Councilor Cayman says is reasonable. I think so as well.¡±


    The rest of them did not say anything. The technician looked at Vahl, then Zhong Yan, and back to Vahl again, seeming to feel the subtle undercurrents running through the room. Awkwardly, he said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve finished my reports. So, gentlemen. I shall¡­take my leave?¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Vahl spoke, but not to the technician. ¡°Councilor Zhong Yan, may I speak with you alone outside?¡±

 Chapter 88 - President

    Zhong Yan followed Vahl into the smoking room silently.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t smoke, and you know I don¡¯t either.¡± Vahl walked over to his side. ¡°But the building is crowded with people these days and this is one of the more quiet spots here.¡±


    If you needed quiet, then a meeting room would be best as they were less likely to be interrupted, but all uses of meeting rooms must be registered. Vahl did not tell him what he needed to speak with him about, but Zhong Yan had a hunch. Both of them shared the tacit understanding that neither of them wanted to make this conversation public.


    Zhong Yan locked the door from the inside and sat down on the sofa opposite of Vahl, smiling. ¡°Well, I just thought you were used to talking in the smoking room.¡±


    What he meant was the talk the two of them had before one of those round table meetings they had before Zhong Yan left the Capital. During that time, Vahl had no idea that Zhong Yan was the creator of ¡°Specimen¡±. He had also seeked him out just to enquire about Adrian.


    Hearing what he said, Vahl laughed. ¡°It isn¡¯t on purpose, really. It¡¯s just a coincidence.¡±


    The memories shared by the two of them were still considered amicable, and this also helped to ease the atmosphere between the two of them. But the situation on hand waited for no one. There was no longer any time to slowly ease into the main topic. Vahl spoke up directly, ¡°The situation right now is extremely tense and complicated. We have to take control now before things grow out of order. In my opinion, it would be best if the both of us are to take up the positions of both the president and the vice-president. What do you think?¡±


    Zhong Yan did not respond to him directly. ¡°Butterfly¡± will stay asleep for a total of seven days and it was already the third day today. They really couldn¡¯t delay things any further. His question was even more direct. ¡°Are you here to persuade me to accept the position of vice-president?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Vahl admitted frankly. ¡°Both of us have points where we prevail, and though the age distribution for civilian support is varied, the proportion is almost the same. Since we¡¯re talking about this in private, I¡¯m not going to bring in all the principals and nonsense. Because both you and me know that none of that exists. Let¡¯s skip the part where we decide who is going to step back, we¡¯ll settle this today.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Zhong Yan responded calmly, ¡°I won¡¯t be the first to step back.¡±


    Vahl seemed to have expected this answer from him as he did not show any hint of surprise. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering whether it was proper for him to ask the question he wanted to bring up. But with how urgent the matter was, this wasn¡¯t the time to care about that. He asked, ¡°Have you spoken with Adrian about this?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Zhong Yan did not look displeased at all. Instead, he nodded. ¡°I have. And it seems like you have as well if you¡¯re asking me this question.¡±


    His guess was correct. Adrian did contact Vahl the day that the impeachment bill was passed. A look of awkwardness and hesitation emerged on Vahl¡¯s face. He was trying to consider whether telling Zhong Yan the contents of his conversation with Adrian would have an impact on their relationship. Right as he was trying to think of a good way to word things, Zhong Yan brought it up for him ¡°You are the candidate he supports to become the president. So to say, the person with Navi Military Command¡¯s support is you. We have already spoken about this before our marriage and it has also been brought up after, so it¡¯s fine, no need to feel so tense. If you feel the need to make this public then please do so, and I¡¯m not speaking out of spite either. I¡¯m being sincere.¡±


    Vahl was surprised. Then, after a few minutes, he seemed to have thought of something. Even the look in his eyes was different when he looked at Zhong Yan now. While Zhong Yan was puzzled over the fact, he heard Vahl say, ¡°It¡¯s an ancient saying that a father knows his son best. I may not be Adrian¡¯s father, but I can still say that I know him better than his real father does, and I also care about him more than anyone related to him. So, it¡¯s reasonable to say that it¡¯s not my business to step in between your affairs¡­But Zhong Yan, Adrian has spoken to me several times after your marriage and I can tell, he really likes you a lot. Even though you may have decided to run with the relationship out of your need for cooperation¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan was confused when he began, but he finally understood near the end. He quickly interrupted him and said, ¡°Councilor Cayman¡­Ah no¡­¡± They were speaking of their private affairs and Vahl did not greet him by title, so he would do better to avoid it as well. A hint of red finally emerged on Zhong Yan¡¯s unshakable facade. Biting down the bullet, he said, ¡°Un¡­Uncle. You¡¯re mistaken. We did not get married for the sake of cooperating. Me and Ade, we don¡¯t usually interfere with each other¡¯s work, and we give each other a great deal of freedom when it comes to it. This is the way we decided would be best for each other after going through many twists and turns. He will not stop me from running for president, nor would I mind whichever candidate he supports, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I do not¡­¡± love him.


    But speaking up to that point was already Zhong Yan¡¯s limit when it came to speaking with outsiders. He paused and was unable to say the latter half of his sentence. Half of his mind felt embarrassed, but the other half was shocked. Didn¡¯t they come to discuss with each other about the position of president? Why did he end up talking about this to Adrian¡¯s senior¡­


    Fortunately, Vahl looked even more embarrassed than he was. Quite clearly, he wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed interfering with the private lives of his juniors, so he quickly added in immediately after Zhong Yan stopped. ¡°It¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to tell me. I was overstepping it a little. Cough, well¡­About the position¡­where were we just now?.¡±


    ¡°We were talking about the Navi Military¡¯s support for you,¡± Zhong Yan reminded him.


    It wasn¡¯t as if Vahl had truly forgotten either, he just needed Zhong Yan¡¯s response to pull the conversation back to a more natural point. So, he went on with Zhong Yan¡¯s words and said, ¡°Ah, right. The Navi Military Command. Since you already know, it won¡¯t hurt to say it. Adrian asked me yesterday whether I needed him to make a statement of his support for me, and to tell you the truth¡­I do need it. But I wanted to confirm it with you first. If I really had the Navi Military Command do so¡­Will you continue to follow-up?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Zhong Yan responded without hesitation, ¡°and I will go all out for it.¡±


    They had already said they were going to settle this today at the very start, so Vahl did not doubt the authenticity of Zhong Yan¡¯s words. Right now, they should be spending all their time, energy, and resources to build up momentum for themselves, to attack and wipe out their opponents¡­


    Vahl thought over it for a long time and sighed in the end. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give my response to Adrian. I¡¯ll tell him not to make the statement.¡±


    Zhong Yan heard the implications of his words and his expression changed slightly. Seriously, he said, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of an old allegory?¡± Vahl said, ¡°Once, there was a child, and two women claimed that child to be their own. The dispute ended up escalating to court and the judge told the two women to snatch the child. Whoever managed to snatch the child gets him, he said. Each one of them took one of the child¡¯s hands and pulled the child to them, and the child was in so much pain from their pulling that he cried. And so, one of the women let go, allowing the other woman to take him away. But the judge ruled the woman who had let go as the child¡¯s mother instead.¡±


    This fable could not be more straightforward. Zhong Yan did not answer and waited for Vahl to go on.¡±


    ¡°There is no time for us to fight between ourselves, and I am prepared to be the first man to let go. However,¡± Vahl said sullenly, ¡°Before I go out there and announce that I support you as the candidate for the interim president, I must say, quite frankly, that I¡¯m very worried. I have no doubts whatsoever about your abilities, but I am worried about your character.¡±


    Zhong Yan was very sure that Adrian was the only person in this world that understood his thoughts and saw his true self. But in their conversation, when Zhong Yan insisted that he would ¡°go all out¡± to fight for that position despite the crisis they were in, Vahl had already caught onto the clues, but this was such a pressing situation that Vahl could do nothing else but step back. However, he still had to make an implicit comment on his concerns.


    ¡°What you worry about will not happen,¡± Zhong Yan promised.


    Just one sentence was not enough to assure Vahl, but Zhong Yan was not going to say more. He respected Vahl for what he did for Adrian, but that did not mean he would give himself to him like Adrian would.


    ¡°Let time be the witness, then,¡± Vahl said as he stood up. He reached out a hand to Zhong Yan and said, ¡°Let me congratulate you in advance, Your Excellency the President.¡±


    Zhong Yan accepted his handshake. ¡°May we work together in harmony, Your Excellency the Vice President.¡±


    On the third day of the AI¡¯s impeachment, they had suddenly discovered that they could not shutdown ¡°Butterfly¡±, and that it also had the sufficient authorities to launch weapons that could destroy humanity. Though this news was temporarily confined to a small group of people, the huge sense of burden could almost fry the brains of those standing at the top of the human pyramid. It was today that the first captain of this era was born.


    Vahl was the first to formally mention the position of president, and most everyone thought he was going to recommend himself, but they never expected him to choose Zhong Yan after having a talk with him outside.


    The two most powerful competitors, the ones with the power, have now reached an agreement. No matter what the others were thinking, it would be difficult to turn over the storm.


    What¡¯s more, not everyone would want to take that position in such a situation. If things were not handled properly, then the consequences were not something the current human federation could afford to suffer. It may seem like a position destined for endless glory right now, but there was also the possibility to become the greatest sinner through the ages.


    With all factors combined, the time that it took for the interim president¡¯s proposal to be passed was rapid. On that day itself, the council announced the birth of a new president and his vice president.


    ¡°We will have a simple appointment ceremony tomorrow, just inside the council. Since you did not bring your military uniform, I bought you a formal suit. It¡¯s in the living room.¡± Zhong Yan had been arriving home at daybreak for many days in a row. After quickly cleaning himself up, he would lay languished in Adrian¡¯s arms to tell him about his next plans. ¡°Rumors of the crisis have already begun to leak. Right now, rumors are flying and people are getting worried, so it would be better for us to give them an open statement. As it happens, there¡¯s no need for us to prepare an inaugural speech. I will just explain to everyone the situation myself at the inauguration ceremony tomorrow.¡±


    Adrian was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re going to declare a human crisis as the first thing you do in office? Is that really alright? You¡¯ll definitely be criticized. I¡¯ll be attending tomorrow anyway, so you might as well let me do it.¡±


    ¡°No. Whoever brings up the news is going to be scolded, so I definitely have to be the one to say it.¡± Zhong Yan was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open and his voice was growing softer, and more muffled. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve already drafted your new position¡­¡±


    ¡°What? The spouse of a president? So the ¡®First Partner¡¯ or something?¡± Adrian joked, but the person in his arms did not respond. Puzzled, he looked down. Zhong Yan had already fallen asleep on his chest.


    He lowered his head to plant a light kiss on Zhong Yan¡¯s smooth forehead.


    ¡°Good night, Mr. President.¡±

 Chapter 89 - Tyrant

    Under Zhong Yan¡¯s instruction, the inauguration ceremony was simplified, and though they called it an inauguration for the new president, it was more like a press conference. Only, the hall was not filled with the media but instead with the councilors.


    Ten minutes before the event begins, just as the councilors have already sat down one after, the protagonist of this ceremony was losing himself over his partner¡¯s choice of dress.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hang it outside! It looks too weird! The ceremony is going to be broadcasted to the whole world, take it off!¡±


    Adrian left his military uniform in the Institution Star, so the clothes he was wearing today was the black suit Zhong Yan had prepared for him. Adrian had never paid attention to formalities and spent most of his time in casualwear. Even his military uniform was rarely worn. He was so rarely found in formal wear, in fact, that Zhong Yan had never actually seen him dressed up in a suit and leather shoes despite knowing him for ten years.


    The well-pressed fabric was covering the strong muscles on his body, and he almost looked like¡ªactually, he was¡ªa handsome noble prince. Zhong Yan paired him with a silver tie that accentuated his silver eyes even more.


    Everything was perfect until Adrian suddenly pulled out that white ball and hung it around his waist about five minutes ago.


    It was the lucky rabbit tail felt pendant Zhong Yan had crafted with the giant space rabbit¡¯s fur.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it being a live broadcast?¡± Adrian said, unperturbed. ¡°And how does it look weird at all? I think it looks quite good.¡±


    Yeah, and you think our wedding rings look great too. But Zhong Yan did not say that to him. No matter what, the sight of a small white ball hanging on Adrian¡¯s serious black formal suit was embarrassing to him. This was the very first felting project he had worked on, and to put it nicely, it was a rabbit¡¯s tail. But, in fact, making a ball was just the easiest since he was in a hurry. He knew himself that be it style or technique, the pendant was still unsatisfactory. If Adrian was to wear that outside, then that was no different than a public punishment for him.


    ¡°Stop playing around, this is an official occasion¡­¡±


    Zhong Yan tried hard to persuade him, but Adrian would not take it off no matter what. Vahl walked over from the stage. While walking towards them, he said, ¡°Gentlemen, the ceremony is about to begin. Are you ready yet¡­Oh, um¡­what is that you¡¯re wearing, Adrian?¡±


    He pointed to the white ball hanging at Adrian¡¯s waist. Zhong Yan finally found an opportunity and tried his best to drag Vahl over to his side, complaining, ¡°He won¡¯t take it off no matter what!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the lucky charm Xiao Yan made me!¡± Adrian responded at the same time he did.


    ¡°Oh, is that the charm those students were talking about?¡± Vahl said kindly to Adrian, ¡°You did good work on it.¡±


    Zhong Yan was instantly stunned. ¡°What students?¡±


    Vahl answered, ¡°The students from the Supreme Institution, of course! You must have missed the news because you were too busy. I had to hear it from one of the youngsters on my team myself. The students from the Supreme Institution said a few days ago on the virtual community that Commander Yate would wear a white ball on him every day, and it was the lucky charm made for him by Councilor Zhong Yan. But nobody ever uploaded a picture of it. So that¡¯s what it looks like?¡±


    Every¡­Every day?


    Zhong Yan was so shocked that he turned stiff. For some time, he had no idea if it was more embarrassing that Adrian wore that every day, or that his not very successful first felt project was shown to the world. He felt that falling in love must have made him sick, because despite how embarrassing it was¡­he actually thought it was a little sweet.


    While they were talking, another staff member ran in from the front and said to Zhong Yan, ¡°Sir Zhong, everything¡¯s ready at the front. Do you think we can begin now?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin,¡± Zhong Yan said. The first segment was his inauguration speech. He tidied up his clothes one last time before quickly exchanging kisses on the cheek with Adrian. Then, he followed the staff member up to the stage.


    ¡°Here I was worried he was too young to hold up,¡± Adrian said as he watched the back of his disappearing figure. Casually, he said to Vahl, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect these people to be so afraid of him. They¡¯re all acting so respectful.¡±


    Vahl shook his head, amused. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. Who would dare to bully him for being young after what happened yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday?¡± Adrian asked, confused. ¡°What happened yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the position he proposed for you yesterday¡­You didn¡¯t know? He didn¡¯t tell you?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­He might have wanted to, but he was too tired and fell asleep halfway through. It¡¯s the same if you tell me now anyway.¡± While saying that, Adrian couldn¡¯t help but recall Zhong Yan¡¯s soft and harmless face from last time, lying quietly in his arms. It really was¡­


    ¡°Right now, everyone in the council¡¯s calling him the ¡®Tyrant¡¯,¡± Vahl sighed. ¡°Tyrant it is, I guess. Better than being called indecisive. We¡¯re in a messy situation right now. What the Federation needs is a strong leader.¡±


    For a while, Adrian was unable to associate the words ¡°strong¡± and ¡°tyrant¡± to Zhong Yan¡¯s image from yesterday night. He asked, surprised, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well, he proposed a new position for you yesterday, right?¡±


    ¡°Commander of the fifty-three military regions. I know about it,¡± Adrian said. ¡°He and I talked about it early on, that the military power must be separated from the hands of the council.¡±


    Vahl said, ¡°So you spoke about it? During the break for the meeting, someone told Zhong Yan in private that he understood his painstaking efforts to appease you temporarily by giving you military power. He said¡­he was willing to help the President with his troubles, and that he would help him get rid of your restraints so the President could get the military power back¡­and his own freedom.¡±


    Adrian froze for a moment before he finally realized what sort of freedom he meant, and that instantly sent his anger surging. Just as he was about to start yelling, he heard Vahl say, ¡°It was just casual talk during the meeting break. He used to be in the same party as Pearson, and I think he was just trying to show his goodwill to the President so he could become his confidant, but he didn¡¯t expect Zhong Yan to recount the matter to the entire table and say his intentions were questionable and questioned how he could still be thinking about gaining power in such a crisis. Then, he dismissed him. After he announced his expulsion, one of the councilors continued to protest, but Zhong Yan said, ¡®you can go home with him if you¡¯re unhappy¡¯. He actually dismissed that guy as well, just like that. Both of them were kicked out of the meeting together. Even though the meeting wasn¡¯t over, the two of them had to pack up their stuff and they were escorted out of the building by security. It was quite a commotion, everyone in the building found out in a moment.¡±


    ¡°Adrian, as I said earlier, it¡¯s right of him to stay tough right now. But even without him expressing it, I know that he did not dismiss those two high level councilors for what he claimed, but because they were belittling and plotting against you.¡± Vahl looked at Adrian. ¡°As your uncle, I¡¯m happy he did that, but as the Vice President, it worries me too. If someone else became the Commander of the fifty-three military commands, would the President have gained another confidant yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Vahl, I understand that you¡¯d be worried for my sake, but your concerns so far have all been superfluous.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Take a look around the Federation. As long as I stay alive, nobody but me can become the Commander,¡± Adrian said, ¡°and I will keep an eye on the President.¡±


    Zhong Yan was worried about the ball hanging at Adrian¡¯s waist. Even though it looked out of place, his worries had, in truth, been for nothing. After learning about their survival crisis, practically nobody paid attention to why the newly appointed Commander of the fifty-three military regions had a white ball around his waist. Instead, they were all swarming the Supreme Council¡¯s page to ask the new President about the current situation.


    Zhong Yan had already issued the order to destroy the ninth floor of the Supreme Council, and his decisive actions won him a lot of support. Vahl was right in predicting that the world would prefer a tough leader when a crisis was approaching.


    There were only four days left before ¡°Butterfly¡± woke up. The technical department and the research institute had been working overtime but they still lacked the necessary information. They had no idea where ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± brain or ¡°Cocoon¡± was, and things seemed to have entered a deadlock.


    Adrian was told outside of Zhong Yan¡¯s office that the President was not in.


    The President¡¯s newly-appointed secretary, Intron, quickly came out when he heard the news and asked, ¡°Sir Yate, what brought you here?¡±


    Adrian had just been granted the highest military post in the morning and became Commander of the fifty-three military regions. It seemed that this should be a busy time for him, when he should be doing the initial confirmations of the situation in each of the military regions.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the President? I came to talk to him because he did not respond to my messages.¡±


    It was most likely something urgent at a time like this. Intron quickly responded, ¡°The President is currently at the police headquarters. There must be a signal blocker there. I¡¯ll help you pass on the message when he leaves.¡±


    Adrian frowned slightly. There were no signal blockers in the police headquarters to begin with. The only place with a signal blocker was the detention center next to the HQ.


    ¡°He went to see Pearson? Why didn¡¯t he tell me¡­Forget it. I¡¯ll go and wait for him.¡±


    At this moment, Zhong Yan was visiting Pearson in the Capital Detention Center.


    ¡°Those men are all garbage! To think a kid like you managed to snatch away the spot of President¡­¡± said Pearson fiercely as he sat on the chair with his hands and legs restrained. Though he had been shut in here for several days, he did not suffer any physical pains. So, besides his mental state being a little poor, he was in pretty good condition. He had just been told about the recent events happening these past few days by Zhong Yan, and he sneered, ¡°And so you¡¯ve come begging to me for it now? You want to ask me whether I know ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ secret? You¡¯re no fool at least. I do know a thing or two. As long as you agree to¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Zhong Yan interrupted him rudely. ¡°Of course not. I just felt irritated that there¡¯s been no progress in my work, and that¡¯s why I¡¯ve come to humiliate you to vent my stress.¡±


    Pearson¡¯s face distorted when he heard his straightforward way of speech. ¡°You! Do you really not want to know where ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain is?¡±


    ¡°You talk as if you do know. But if you did know of its self-protection modules, you would not have gone against it to begin with. You actually confirmed yourself that neither me nor Sir Yate have any means of threatening you. After you no longer required ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ protection, you took the opportunity to turn your back on it without any hesitation. It really shows that you know nothing.¡±


    Pearson¡¯s hatred could almost pour out from his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Your plots against me are absolutely terrible! If I had known the truth then I would¡¯ve gotten someone to kill that Yate brat at all costs when ¡®Butterfly¡¯ told me he was leaving the Institution Star alone!¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s heart thumped. ¡°Butterfly¡± knew that Adrian left the Institution Star?


    He had come to probe Pearson, who had the closest personal relationship with ¡°Butterfly¡±, but he did not expect to actually hear any useful information. Pearson had no idea, but Zhong Yan knew well that the entire monitoring system had been completely removed when Adrian left the Institution Star.


    But then, how could ¡°Butterfly¡± find out what the situation was within the Institution Star without any monitoring systems?

 Chapter 90 - Special Planet

    ¡°Butterfly¡± knows what happens in the Institution Star like the back of its own hand, way better than what it knows about any other planet. Zhong Yan had known this since a long time ago. That was why he did not take the risk to lay everything on the table with Adrian back then, and waited until they arrived at Navi before speaking.


    Indeed, the Institution Star was special, that was just to be expected. In every aspect, anyone could easily agree, and that was why Zhong Yan did not think too much of it when he received the news a long time ago. He just thought that it was because the Federation¡¯s Supreme Institute was situated there, and in order to better understand the future pillars of society, ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± monitoring of the place was exceptionally strict.


    But now the monitoring systems have already been removed! Unless¡­


    Pearson was cursing on his own. After receiving this unexpected information, it was no longer necessary for Zhong Yan to deal with him. He called out, ¡°Come in!¡±


    A man who had been waiting outside of the room in a police uniform entered when he heard the order. He didn¡¯t look very impressive, but Pearson was so shocked that he was speechless. And that was because the man Zhong Yan called in was holding a gun.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Pearson asked, alert.


    Zhong Yan stood up and seemed prepared to leave. He said to the man, ¡°He¡¯s useless now. It¡¯s done.¡±


    The man nodded and began to ready his gun. There was no way Pearson would not be able to understand after that. Zhong Yan came to kill him today! His eyes were wide in shock as he struggled on his seat. Both the restraining devices on his hands and feet were rattling loudly. ¡°Zhong Yan! You¡¯re insane! Hasn¡¯t human autonomy been restored?! It¡¯s illegal for you to kill me in private before my case is even brought to court! How could you do something like this? You just became the President! If news of my death travels out, the next one to be impeached will be you!¡±


    Zhong Yan had already reached the door but he turned to smile at him when he heard that. ¡°Thank you for your consideration but please pass on in peace. We¡¯re in a special period right now and the President holds a lot of power. Something like this can still be suppressed.¡±


    With the dark muzzle pointed at his head, Pearson¡¯s cold sweat came drizzling down. He had never been this close to death in his life, and he never would have imagined that Zhong Yan who was usually so cautious would actually be so vicious. At the critical moment between life and death, even his speech had become jumbled. ¡°You¡¯re actually using your power for a personal grudge! No, the court case hasn¡¯t even been opened yet. I¡¯ve already hired a lawyer! No, no¡­I really do know ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ secret! I¡¯ll help you! I will!¡±


    Zhong Yan didn¡¯t care too much. ¡°Really? I can consider it if you tell me.¡±


    Pearson was stuck. How could he know any of ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± secrets! While he was stuttering on some meaningless words so he could buy time to think, Zhong Yan laughed. ¡°Seems like it was a lie.¡± Then, he looked at his confidant and said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Do you want me to pull the trigger for you?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no difference between you and I!¡± Pearson shouted. ¡°You¡¯re no different than the AI! Just you wait! After Adrian Yate kills ¡®Butterfly¡¯, he¡¯ll kill you too, sooner or later!¡±


    Bang.


    After the muted sound of gunfire, everything turned silent.


    Zhong Yan stepped out of the room that was beginning to smell of blood with Pearson¡¯s last words still ringing in his ears. For him, he was not too worried about that situation because of the many honest discussions he had with Adrian. Everyone in the world thinks that giving Adrian power over the 53 military regions would allow Adrian to keep the President in check, but only he and Adrian knew that his real restraints were their marriage.


    But if one day, conflict arose between Adrian and the power he had been pursuing all his life, the obsession of standing above all others, how would he choose? The first time Zhong Yan confessed his ambitions to Adrian in Navi, and Adrian¡¯s condition for them to start over was for him to give that up. He had already made a choice back then, but what about now?


    Ever since they got married, Adrian had never put out a similar request. Perhaps he had already accepted one-sidedly that he was more important than power in Zhong Yan¡¯s heart, and that he had taken the biggest step back for the sake of their love.


    But was that true? Zhong Yan knew what he wanted since he was a kid, but asking himself now, he actually couldn¡¯t be certain anymore. If he was given another chance, if such a thing really happened again in the future, how would he choose?


    Zhong Yan stood in front of the door with the bloody scene he created left behind him. Suddenly, he saw a pair of leather shoes stopping in front of him. He was standing too close. Who would be so daring as to stand so close to the President¡­


    ¡°What are you so preoccupied about?¡± Adrian was just about to reach out to pinch his cheeks when he realized that Zhong Yan¡¯s subordinates were still in the hall. It wouldn¡¯t be good of him to do anything that would destroy the majestic image of the President, so his half-raised hand was put on Zhong Yan¡¯s shoulder instead. ¡°Is that old man dead?¡±


    Zhong Yan stared at Adrian in a daze. He really did not expect to bump into Adrian right now. Even though Adrian also made swift judgments towards his enemies and would not care much of the incident, no man would be willing to have their partners run into them during a murder scene. A little uneasy, he said, ¡°He¡¯s dead. You came at a good time, he said something useful just before he died.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the car, saves time. I have something I need to speak with you about too.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhong Yan walked out with him, side by side. The entourage he brought with him had just begun to follow them when Zhong Yan beckoned to one of them and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you report to me something as important as the Commander arriving?¡±


    On Zhong Yan¡¯s first day as the President, he fired two high-ranking councilors in the first minute, throwing the entire council silent, but they had to admit that he really had the ability to govern the people. From the impeachment bill to leading ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± termination plan, he gained much of the public¡¯s support, and it seemed like the heat wouldn¡¯t be dying down so quickly. Everyone in the council was careful towards the President for fear of provoking him. Even his subordinate was shaking from fear when he was asked that, but Adrian who had heard the question at the side interjected casually, ¡°I told him that he didn¡¯t have to report it.¡±


    He could easily tell that it was a lie, but since Adrian had already spoken, it was only natural that Zhong Yan would not try to demean him. Dropping the matter, he said, ¡°You take the car at the back. I have something to talk to the Commander about.¡±


    His subordinates quickly escaped after giving Adrian a grateful glance. Then, the rest of them went to the car at the back.


    Everyone in the world thought that the Commander was a man who fought his way up through a rain of gunfire. Now that he held such military power, he was definitely a fierce character. On the other hand, the image they had of the President had always been like a clear breeze that just happened to toughened up because it was necessary for the situation. Only those that actually had the chance to interact with these two men knew that though everyone was speaking about the President, the man who truly loved the people was the Commander.


    ¡°Let me go first. This matter is more important,¡± Adrian told him while he turned on his terminal. Zhong Yan was just about to tell him that his matter was relatively urgent too but he still allowed him to go first. Adrian had already opened up all the data and showed his screen to Zhong Yan. ¡°Look, these are the three divisions I brought with me to the Institution Star. The data is almost no different from reality. Do you know where I found this picture?¡±


    With his attention perked, Zhong Yan immediately asked, ¡°Is this not the internal plans from your own army?¡±


    ¡°No. This is from the intelligence department of the Capital Military Region,¡± Adrian¡¯s voice was grim. ¡°They also told me that ¡®Butterfly¡¯ was the one who sent them this three days after I landed on the Institution Star, asking them to start their targeted deployment so they could be on standby. Most of the motherships did not land during the first three days that I did, and that was in order to prevent them from being included in the surface monitoring devices. But three days later, I had them land. Xiao Yan, at that time¡­¡±


    ¡±You¡¯ve already cleared out all of ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ monitoring systems at that time.¡± Zhong Yan had a hunch in his heart already and quickly analyzed, ¡°But even if the surface monitoring devices were removed, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ still knew the situation on the Institution Star like the back of its hand. Not only was it able to figure out the military forces deployed throughout the entire zone, it also knew each and every one of their identities and actions. Before he died, Pearson had accidentally revealed that he knew long ago that you left the Institution Star, and that ¡®Butterfly¡¯ told him. The Institution Star is a special existence for ¡®Butterfly¡¯. It had the means to monitor the area that we had no idea about. It was unable to verify the military force before you landed, so that monitoring device must not be in the air¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not on the surface either,¡± Adrian followed on. ¡°I¡¯m very sure that the ground had already been swept clean. When it comes to destroying monitoring devices, the Navi Military Region is professional.¡±


    The two looked at each other for a moment. Both saw the same look of disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this since yesterday,¡± Zhong Yan murmured. ¡°A super AI that can cover an area of millions of planets, even penetrating through the areas of the universe without signal and it can analyze and process the data generated by billions of people every second. How big must its server be to support such powerful features?¡±


    Adrian looked at him with a scorching gaze. ¡°About the size of an artificial planet would do it.¡±


    Both of them turned on their terminals at the same time. Neither of them needed to talk about the next step they had to take, but they each knew what they needed to do. After a few silent seconds of waiting, the communications were picked up. Both of them gave their orders simultaneously to their subordinates at the other end of their terminals.


    ¡°Prepare the fastest spaceship and clear the route. The commander and I are setting off for the Institution Star immediately.¡±


    ¡°Pass on my order. Break open the surface of the Institution Star right now and check the internals of the planet. No matter what you find, do not act rashly until I arrive.¡±


    After a few simple orders, the two of them hung up their devices. Zhong Yan said, ¡°I will now issue a presidential decree to allow the Navi Military District stationed on the Institution Star to destroy the surface and explore its internals.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not so easy for us to explain to the public why we went to see Pearson, so we¡¯ll just use the military distribution map to explain.¡±


    Parking at the entrance of the Supreme Council, Zhong Yan quickly kissed Adrian¡¯s cheek before getting out of the car, saying, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll go deal with it while you go look for your men. I¡¯ll see you at the council¡¯s take-off pad later.¡±

 Chapter 91 - Blasting the School

    The total time the second-generation AI, ¡°Butterfly¡±, stayed in use from its creation to its abolishment was a total of 98 years. The Federation¡¯s Supreme Institution had just held its 100-year celebration just a few months prior to this.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it! They weren¡¯t trying to create an artificial planet a hundred years ago. They were trying to create ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ server! But because it was too big, they couldn¡¯t fit it into any planet and could only leave it in space. So, in order to hide it from the people, they just told everyone it was an artificial planet,¡± a middle-aged man with glasses said.


    This was said on the ship that was rushing over to the Institution Star. Zhong Yan had brought with him a team of experts consisting of the top AI experts and artificial planet experts. Now that they have departed, Zhong Yan organized a simple meeting for them to exchange information.


    One of the artificial planet experts said, ¡°No wonder nobody has been able to replicate another artificial planet with success. Now that I think about it, those secret documents have all been destroyed by ¡®Butterfly¡¯ after it came into power. After the deaths of all those who participated in the project, nobody knew where ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain was anymore.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still too early for conclusions.¡± Adrian tapped his fingers on the table. ¡°The Institution Star has already gathered my soldiers as well as a professor who is an expert in artificial planets to conduct the surface blasting. The professor for the AI class is also on standby. Soon, we will be able to receive accurate news of whether ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain is really down there.¡±


    One of the AI experts who had just been urgently summoned a day ago sighed. ¡°It really is a great blessing in this misfortune for this to have happened in the Supreme Institution. We have all sorts of experts available and we can get started immediately.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency the Commander, I¡¯m afraid ¡®soon¡¯ won¡¯t cut it for us to open up the ground. At the very least, it would take a few hours,¡± said an artificial planet expert whose hair was already halfway turning white. ¡°I had the honor to apply for an artificial planet exploration activity many years ago. We learned from that exploration that all the materials that makes up the Institution Star¡¯s surface comes from the Tech System, and they are much sturdier than what your average planet is made of.¡±


    The Tech System is a star system where the Institute of Science and Technology gathers, and it was right beside the Capital. Its unique geographical location and atmosphere of pure scientific research made this star system a holy place for all scientific-minded people. This time, most of the experts gathered for the AI abolishment plan consisted mostly of members urgently transferred over from the Tech System. Even the original Super-AI Research Institute which had been abandoned decades ago was located there.


    Zhong Yan suddenly asked, ¡°This exploration activity you mentioned¡­Was it the one that happened during spring eight years ago?¡±


    The older artificial planet expert was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it carefully, he affirmed, ¡°That¡¯s right. It was spring eight years ago. Why is Your Excellency asking?¡±


    Zhong Yan and Adrian looked at each other for a moment, and they both remembered the past. Zhong Yan smiled, ¡°I just became the Student Council President at the time, and I was the one who arranged the reception of your exploration team. I was just wondering why you looked so familiar!¡±


    ¡°It was the President¡¯s first contact with foreign affairs and he was nervous about it for a very long time,¡± Adrian teased, ¡°He spent many days unable to sleep at night and he would drag me into it to fuss over the reception plan as well. It was a real handful.¡±


    Everyone began to laugh and the tense atmosphere seems to have dissipated from this coincidence.


    Since they have not received any results yet from the Institution Star, it wouldn¡¯t help for them to continue talking about it on the ship. So, Zhong Yan said a few words of thanks to dissolve the meeting and immediately beckoned over an attendant to lead the experts back to the rooms they were arranged to rest.


    Even after clearing the route and moving at full speed, it still took them two days and one night before they arrived at the Institution Star.


    Adrian and Zhong Yan were walking side by side while they discussed the situation on the Institution Star. One of the attendants on the ship approached Adrian and asked, ¡°Your Excellency the Commander, will you be returning to your room now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Your room is not in this direction, please follow me¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m in a separate room?¡± Adrian asked.


    Zhong Yan who was also beside him looked over, confused. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what my relationship with the Commander is? Why is he in a separate room by himself?¡±


    That attendant¡¯s face was covered in shock and he quickly apologized in a stutter. But Adrian just waved him away, unperturbed.


    The two of them entered the room arranged for the President and Adrian took off his jacket. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look upset.¡±


    ¡°It was practically written on his face!¡± While hanging up Adrian¡¯s jacket for him, Zhong Yan fumed, ¡°On his left it¡¯s ¡®are you really sleeping together?¡¯ and on the right it¡¯s ¡®going all the way with your act? That¡¯s too dedicated¡¯!¡±


    Zhong Yan was the man who led the impeachment of the AI and he also assigned military power to Adrian afterwards. This trend led more people to believe that the two of them had only gathered at this time for political cooperation. Now, both of them have clearly achieved their own goals. Each of them held one half of the world¡¯s power. It seems like the two of them will be able to declare a peaceful breakup when the situation stabilizes soon.


    This was the most widely accepted theory by the people, and has already become the main argument. And clearly, the attendant of this ship thought so as well.


    Adrian laughed when he heard that. He took the man into his arms and said, ¡°What sort of nonsense are you thinking about? Maybe we¡¯ve only been assigned separate rooms because they felt that the beds on the ship were too small.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m so busy these days that I wouldn¡¯t know what goes on in the virtual community?¡± Zhong Yan said grumpily. ¡°I¡¯ll still spend a few minutes each day to browse through the top news in the gossip section. The headline of the hot topic yesterday was ¡®Countdown to the President¡¯s divorce? Breakup time receives speculation¡¯, and today¡¯s is, ¡®The most successful political marriage, analysis of the marriage between the Commander and the President¡¯.¡±


    Adrian didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. Who would have expected that the President would still find time to look through gossip in his busy schedule? He quickly coaxed him. ¡°Don¡¯t be unhappy. When we reach the next signal area, I¡¯ll make a post to tell everyone how badly I love you, alright?¡±


    Zhong Yan burst out in laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with it. Even I think it looks like you¡¯re trying to cover something up. Who would believe you?¡±


    But this was just a trivial matter after all. They could just make a joke out of it and that was that. Zhong Yan didn¡¯t really put the matter to heart anyway, he just had to complain a little to vent if he saw it happen. But Adrian would always remember this. After that, the two of them no longer brought up the matter and instead began to talk about business instead.


    ¡°Have the professors and students on the Institution Star been evacuated?¡±


    ¡°A small portion of the professors and students who can help have willingly decided to stay. We¡¯ve already arranged the evacuations for everyone else and they should be mostly gone by the time we arrive.¡± Adrian said, ¡°There are also the important documents in the school that are also being sorted out so the second batch of evacuating professors can take them away.¡±


    Zhong Yan said, ¡°If we really are able to determine that the Institution Star is in fact ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ main server¡­Do you think the weapons you have stationed in the Institution Star are enough?¡±


    For a super-AI that has so many self-protective measures in place, a ¡°shutdown¡± wouldn¡¯t be able to put the people¡¯s hearts at ease. Of course, it would be much safer to destroy it completely. If the situation allows it, then they¡¯ll have to blow up the entire artificial planet to ensure ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± death.


    Without any need for explanation, Adrian understood what he meant. He said with certainty, ¡°There¡¯s enough.¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s expression was gloomy. He had wanted to say that the planet was where he and Adrian met, and he also spent the happiest three years of his life there. Even without mentioning that, the Supreme Institution was, after all, a place that changed the lives of many people, and he still had some feelings towards his alma mater in the end. Just destroying it like that was really sad. But it would be too childish of him to bring that up. In the face of protecting the safety of humanity, this was just a school. If they cleared out all the personnel in the school, then its destruction was not a high price to pay.


    He did not say anything, but Adrian held him and said, ¡°I know. I can¡¯t bear to see the school go either, or the memories of our three years there. But we¡¯ll have a better and happier life in the future, so don¡¯t be sad.¡±


    Zhong Yan held his hand and regained his spirits. He nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s more, it¡¯s the ultimate dream of every student to blow up their school. You and I will be the first people to realize this dream. Cheer up.¡±


    Zhong Yan patted his hand, amused. The gloominess in his heart also dispersed.


    None of them could have imagined, however, that Adrian¡¯s joke would not be realized.


    During the night, they were woken up by an emergency alarm. Since they knew that news from the Institution Star would come at night, both of them were sleeping with their outside clothes on. Both of them quickly sobered up when they heard the sound.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Commander,¡± the head of the first division quickly said. He was calling Adrian by his old title, but nobody cared about correcting him at this moment. Adrian turned on the speakers and responded, ¡°The President and I are both present. Speak.¡±


    ¡°The ground is covered in dirty bombs! The entire planet is filled with them! They¡¯re buried deep under several layers of thick shields, but the number is too large. Our disposal experts estimate that it will take at least ten teams to work endlessly for many days to deal with them.¡±


    Dirty bombs, radioactive weapons that were different from ordinary bombs or weapons that could kill a person directly. Once they explode, they would cause irreversible and disastrous large-scale environmental pollution. No living being or resource will be spared. Even more terrifying was the fact that after its explosion, they can try to rebuild, but even after spending a lot of resources to deal with the aftermath, the land is still contaminated by radioactive energy. The place will have to be abandoned for at least a few centuries.


    Adrian and Zhong Yan both gasped at the same time. Zhong Yan asked, ¡°What about ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ server? Is it under the bombs?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. We are now forced to suspend the mission. The bomb disposal team is now removing the dirty bombs from a small region. Only after they¡¯re done can we continue with the detection operation.¡±


    ¡°What if we detonate the planet as we originally planned?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°I asked about it. They said that with this number of bombs¡­¡± The head of the first division laughed bitterly. ¡°If it detonates, it will immediately contaminate at least 3 of its surrounding star systems, and it¡¯ll spread to 10 within a year. In ten years, it will be able to contaminate most of the Federation.¡±


    Both sides of the communication turned dead silent. Zhong Yan opened his own terminal to connect with his subordinates and took a deep breath before ordering, ¡°Wake up all the experts in the ship and convene an emergency meeting in five minutes.¡±

 Chapter 92 - Candidate

    They couldn¡¯t blow up the school. This caused the people who had breathed a sigh of relief after seemingly having found ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± server became tense once more.


    Both Zhong Yan and Adrian still were in the mood during the meeting when they first boarded the ship to make jokes with everyone to lighten up the mood, but nobody could even muster up a smile anymore.


    ¡°On the positive side of things, some people¡ªor AI¡ªmust not want us to destroy the planet from the dirty bombs we found. That at least proves that something¡¯s down there. We can almost be certain now that that must be ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain. It¡¯s something, at least,¡± one of the AI experts said. Even though he was trying to comfort everyone, the tight frown on his brows still showed how worried he was.


    Yes, they did manage to get some clues, but they couldn¡¯t act rashly. Otherwise, nobody can bear the consequences of the radioactive leakage from the dirty bombs.


    Zhong Yan asked, ¡°How¡¯s our backup plan going?¡±


    Their main plan was to find and destroy ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± server, while their backup was to find ¡°Cocoon¡±, the only AI with the power to shut down ¡°Butterfly¡± for good.


    The researcher in charge of contacting the Capital shook his head to Zhong Yan.


    There was no progress. Information was missing. The participants from a century ago have all died, and every last trace was cleaned up by ¡°Butterfly¡±. They simply could not find where ¡°Cocoon¡± that had been abandoned a century ago was. There was only one way to go now, and that was to destroy ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± brain that was surrounded by all those dirty bombs.


    The artificial planet experts began discussing possible solutions based on video materials sent over from the Institution Star. Adrian had actually taken a bomb dismantling class during his time in the Supreme Institution, and his results were pretty good. Only, he never used those skills for many years and his skills had already turned rusty. Fortunately, one of the guards he sent to Zhong Yan was part of the bomb disposal unit. So, he transferred the guard over to discuss with the experts as well.


    The discussion went on until they arrived in the Institution Star¡¯s signal zone, and they saw the message sent to them by the front-line detection squad a few hours ago. They have already confirmed that the main server of the super AI is inside the planet.


    Mankind created two super AIs in total, and the Institution Star had only been built a century ago. It can not be ¡°Cocoon¡± that had been around for more than two hundred years, only ¡°Butterfly¡±.


    Even though they expected this news, a strange feeling still arose in their hearts when the confirmation came, especially for the half who came from the Institution Star. Just thinking about how they lived three years on a planet that had ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± brain in its core, and covered with so many dirty bombs, all of them felt chills.


    On the sixth day since ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± hibernation, the group of experts consisting of the President, The Commander, as well as the Federation¡¯s top scientists arrived at the Institution Star.


    In Adrian and Zhong Yan¡¯s memories, they had never seen the school this cold before. They always came here when school started and left during the holidays. Every day of their lives at the campus was lively and filled with vitality. But there was no time for them to mourn the desolate scene. Now that they have returned once more, they were no longer students and instead had become those who shoulder the hopes of all of mankind.


    ¡°Mr. Headmaster.¡± Adrian frowned and shook hands with the middle-aged man. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you evacuated yet?¡±


    This headmaster was not the one during Adrian and Zhong Yan¡¯s time in school. In fact, he had only been in office for less than three years. This professor used to be a professor from the School of Social Sciences, and Zhong Yan had once taken his class. This was also the headmaster who led the joint protest of the colleges and universities.


    ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous here, Professor. We will arrange a spaceship to take you away now,¡± Zhong Yan also said.


    ¡°My students,¡± the headmaster smiled. A sanguine look could be seen in his eyes as he said, ¡°I am the headmaster of this school, how could I evacuate when my students are rushing to the front-lines? I will not hold you back, so please let me stay.¡±


    Zhong Yan mumbled, ¡°That¡¯s not what we mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency, your advisor has spoken with me before he evacuated about the Specimen store you invested in.¡± The headmaster winked at Zhong Yan. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, all the precious specimen materials have already been taken away by the students working there.¡±


    This headmaster was also on the anti-AI side. After the old headmaster retired more than two years ago, he successfully took up the position of headmaster with ¡°Specimen¡¯s¡± strong support, but he had only found out yesterday that Zhong Yan was the one behind that organization.


    Zhong Yan did not expect that his advisor would tell the headmaster his identity before he left either, and he felt a little embarrassed for a while. He nodded, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need to worry. I still owe Your Excellency a big thank you.¡±


    Any other person may not understand what they were talking about, but Adrian, as someone in the know, understood. It turns out that this headmaster had Zhong Yan at the back to give him the push, and he couldn¡¯t help but take a glance at Zhong Yan. He realized now that Zhong Yan actually did way more than he expected those past few years.


    But it was no time to talk about the past right now. After making sure of the situation, all of them began heading to the experiment building of the School of Engineering together. Since most of the equipment they needed were in the School of Engineering, that was where they set up their temporary headquarters for the time being. As soon as the party from the Capital arrived, they saw a busy scene inside the experiment building¡¯s lobby. Various instruments they could not say the name of were piled up in the hall with dozens of huge virtual screens displaying complex graphs and data. Many of the people bustling about were professors that Adrian and Zhong Yan were familiar with, and there were even a few teenage girls who did not look any older than twenty. Those were the students who performed well enough academically and stayed behind by their own will to help.


    Very soon, soldiers from the Navi Military Command came to bring the Capital¡¯s expert team over to join the work. The three colonels met up with Adrian and Zhong Yan and reported on their current progress.


    ¡°The small-scale detection equipment we brought down were destroyed halfway through,¡± the First Regiment¡¯s leader said. ¡°Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t without reward. After searching various directions with the unmanned detection devices, we found a special channel that may be used by the scientists who built ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ server, and it may even lead us to ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ core. We already have a team digging up an entrance there.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°Very good. Where is the corresponding entrance, exactly?¡±


    ¡°Right below the School of Mechanical Engineering, in an abandoned warehouse. What number was it again¡­?¡±


    Both Zhong Yan and Adrian blurted out at the same time. ¡°No. 178?¡±


    All three of the colonels looked at them in surprise. The Colonel of the First Regiment said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s no. 178! How did you know?!¡±


    Adrian and Zhong Yan glanced at each other. For a while, they really didn¡¯t know where to begin. The School of Mechanical Engineering¡¯s warehouse no.178 was the ¡°down¡± written down in their cipher book.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was? It¡¯s no wonder there¡¯s no monitoring there,¡± Adrian said, still feeling shocked. ¡°We always sneaked over there back then and spent the whole night. It¡¯s really fortunate we never got offed by ¡®Butterfly¡¯.¡±


    Zhong Yan said helplessly, ¡°This teaches us not to violate the school rules so casually.¡±


    The Third Regiment¡¯s leader widened his eyes. ¡°You often spent nights in the abandoned warehouse? What were you uh¡­doing in the warehouse?¡±


    ¡°Chatting,¡± Adrian told him honestly.


    The young colonel looked at him with scorn, his face saying, ¡°Who are you trying to fool?¡±


    Adrian slapped him upside the head and shouted, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking of! We were purely chatting!¡±


    But in fact, the other two colonels did not believe that statement either. The two of them looked at each other and believed that the young President and Commander were doing some kind of special play during their school years. But they were a bit older after all, they wouldn¡¯t run their mouths like the Third Regiment¡¯s Colonel, and just quietly felt surprised in their hearts. It turns out that these two calm-looking people were actually so wild during their school days. Sure enough, young people know how to have fun.


    Seeing their reputation growing worse and worse, Zhong Yan coughed and said, ¡°So, when will the opening on the School of Mechanical Engineering¡¯s side be open?¡±


    It will take a few hours to break open the surface,¡± The Second Regiment¡¯s colonel said. ¡°Your Excellency, there are empty rooms in the dormitory, do you and the commander want to take a rest for now?¡±


    But of course, there was no way any of them were in any mood to rest. Thus, Zhong Yan said, ¡°No. We¡¯ll go and see if the experts managed to devise any feasible plans.¡±


    With that, there were faint changes in the expressions of all three colonels. The three of them looked like they wanted to say something but were stuck. Sensing the situation, Adrian asked, ¡°What is it? Is there something you haven¡¯t said?¡±


    The three of them looked at each other for a few moments. Finally, the Colonel of the First Regiment bit the bullet and said, ¡°Commander, Deputy Commander Suster had just set off yesterday and will arrive by today.¡±


    Adrian was stunned. Following that, he howled, ¡°What is he coming for?! Didn¡¯t I give him the order to stay at Navi¡¯s base camp?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me yesterday? My adjutant and my colonels are working together to conceal their military affairs from me?! Do you know what kind of¡­¡±


    ¡°Ade,¡± Zhong Yan gently tugged at the hem of his clothes to stop him from scolding them. Calmly, he asked, ¡°You have already discussed a feasible plan yesterday and reached a conclusion, right?¡±


    The three of them nodded awkwardly, but Adrian wasn¡¯t surprised at all. It was because he could guess that he was so angry. Calmly, he said, ¡°The detection devices can only perform limited movements. It¡¯s too late to create a suitable report in such a short amount of time, so the best way is to send someone down to destroy ¡®Butterfly¡¯s¡¯ brain. It¡¯s too dangerous and none of you told me. Instead, you discussed with the deputy and that was why he rushed over without telling me. He wants to be the one to head down.¡±


    The colonel of the second regiment steeled himself and said, ¡°The Deputy Commander¡¯s individual combat abilities are clear to everyone. He¡¯s a very suitable candidate!¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s strong,¡± Adrian said, ¡°but the strongest individual is on this planet right now.¡±


    The Colonel of the Third Regiment was anxious. ¡°You can¡¯t go, Commander! What will we do if anything happens to you down there? His Excellency will definitely not agree to it!¡±


    Adrian suddenly realized how cruel this conversation was to Zhong Yan. He was just about to ask Zhong Yan to leave first, but he heard him say, ¡°I¡¯m not against it.¡±


    His tone was steady as usual, but when Adrian turned to him, he could see his eyes growing red.

 Chapter 93 - Two Generation Chiefs

    ¡°Xiao Yan, don¡¯t¡­¡± Adrian felt pained but it wouldn¡¯t be too proper to comfort him in front of everyone. Their statuses were different now, he had to show the President respect in front of others. So, he could only dismiss his own subordinates by saying, ¡°I need to talk to the President. You three should go check on the progress.¡±


    The Third Colonel knew he said something wrong just now and quickly ran away while Adrian didn¡¯t have the time to settle the accounts with him. With his hand half around Zhong Yan¡¯s waist, Adrian took him up the stairs in the College of Engineering¡¯s Experiment Building.


    In order to facilitate their communications and scheduling, all the machines they needed were moved to the first and second floors. So, nobody was around when they arrived on the third floor. Adrian took Zhong Yan into his arms, but strangely, Zhong Yan did not hug him back.


    Adrian had many reasons he wanted to bring up to explain why he was the best candidate. The inside of this planet was filled with dangers after all. A human had to be sent deep into danger. In a situation others could survive in he would also be able to survive. In a situation others could not, he would still be able to survive. Having the strongest person go would be the best option to minimize the possibility of incurring a sacrifice. But when the words came to his mouth, he couldn¡¯t say it. There was no way Zhong Yan would not understand such a simple reason. Moreover, Zhong Yan had already expressed that he did not object to his choice. This seemed to have taken away the need for Adrian to even explain.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± In the end, those were the only words he could muster. He held the man in his arms tightly and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Zhong Yan gently pushed him away. If you did not look at the slight tinge of red at his eyes, then his expression could even be described as calm. ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, really, and I¡¯m not just saying that. You didn¡¯t stop me when I became President, so I won¡¯t stop you from being the hero either. Both of us know the line between our personal lives and public, so I support your decision. When you save everyone¡­When you come back¡­Could you¡­¡±


    A crack finally appeared on his calm mask. He could hear his voice choking back. Adrian felt like something was stuck in his throat and he couldn¡¯t say anything at all. His chest heaved up and down before he could adjust himself. He promised Zhong Yan solemnly, ¡°Once this ends, I¡¯ll retreat from the frontline. I¡¯ll never put myself in danger again. I¡¯ll always stay by your side, and I¡¯ll go wherever you go. I won¡¯t leave anymore, okay?¡±


    Zhong Yan¡¯s mood did not alleviate because of this promise, because the premise of it was that he needed to come back up alive. For a human made of flesh and blood to break through the ultimate protection set up by an omniscient super-AI seemed almost like an impossible task. Without saying yes or no, he looked down. ¡°Let¡¯s go down and check on the progress. I¡¯ll sign the presidential decree for your operation later.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°Commander-in-Chief!¡± A young voice shouted from downstairs.


    Both Adrian and Zhong Yan looked over and saw a tall student who was about twenty-years-old standing by the stairs. Adrian nodded to him and said, ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±


    Then, he introduced him to Zhong Yan. ¡°This is the current Student Council President of the Supreme Institution. He helped us out a lot a few days ago and he¡¯s one of the students who chose to stay behind.¡±


    While he was speaking, the young Student Council President walked over to them and greeted Zhong Yan. ¡°Your Excellency the President. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jonny Studen. I asked a few of the colonels earlier and they told me that the two of you were upstairs. I just overheard Senior Zhong Yan talking about a presidential decree on my way up¡­Please excuse my presumptuousness, but may I ask if the two of you were discussing the candidates for the underground mission?¡±


    The situation was getting clearer and clearer, and though no specific plan has been announced, most people were aware that someone would have to go down in this situation. There wasn¡¯t anything they had to hide. This was something they were going to announce soon, so Adrian admitted it. ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you have any suggestions?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± The boy straightened his back and spoke in a firm voice. ¡°Please let me perform the task.¡±


    Adrian was surprised. Zhong Yan remembered an intelligence report he received from the Supreme Institution two months ago and whispered to Adrian, ¡°The Student Council President for this generation comes from the Military Academy.¡±


    ¡°As of this month¡¯s rankings, I am also the current Chief of the Military Academy.¡± Jonny said, ¡°Senior Yate was once the Chief of the Military Academy as well. I¡¯m sure you must know the weight this list holds.¡±


    If Adrian were to say that Fayn rushing over from Navi behind his back to take his place in this task annoyed him, then this student who still had that youthful aura around him simply made him want to laugh, but he restrained himself. He did not wish to offend this boy¡¯s sincerity.


    Zhong Yan said helplessly, ¡°Mr. Studen, we will not send a student who has yet to leave the campus to this mission.¡±


    ¡°Then much less Your Excellency the Commander.¡± It seems that Jonny had already guessed early on that his proposal would be rejected, but he tried to argue with reason. ¡°Mankind needs the Commander, but they may not necessarily need a student who has yet to even graduate!¡±


    As soon as he said that, the faint smile at Adrian¡¯s lips disappeared completely. Zhong Yan shook his head and looked at Adrian¡¯s expression. Without saying anything, he took a step back.


    ¡°Jonny¡ªI hope you don¡¯t mind me calling you that,¡± Adrian said, ¡°You told me specifically that you were the current Chief of the Military Academy, so you also agree that performing this mission may require excellent abilities in combat, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Senior.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s fight.¡±


    Jonny froze. Suspecting that he might have misheard, he asked, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You and me, right here. Let¡¯s fight.¡± Adrian repeated again, ¡°Not anyone can be sent out to do a difficult task like this just because they asked to be. Both the President and I certainly agree on that. At the very least, you have to show us if you¡¯re really capable of replacing me in this mission.¡±


    The young Chief looked at the most dazzling one of his seniors and thought back to Adrian¡¯s lofty achievements in the past when he ranked at the top. The enthusiasm of a man¡¯s itch to fight was causing his blood to surge. Clenching his fists, he said, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do it right now.¡±


    The hall on the third floor on the Experiment Building had already been cleared out and was now empty. It was suitable to be used as a temporary arena. Zhong Yan helped Adrian take off his coat and whispered quiet enough that only the two of them could hear. ¡°He¡¯s a kind boy. Just think of it as warm-up, don¡¯t go too harsh on him.¡±


    But Adrian was unmoved. ¡°If he needs me to go easy on him, then that means the quality of the Military Academy¡¯s Chief has declined.¡±


    Zhong Yan shot him a disapproving glare. Adrian scratched his nose and finally relaxed. ¡°I know what to do.¡±


    Jonny had already known then he wouldn¡¯t be able to beat mankind¡¯s legendary warrior.


    When Adrian Yate graduated the Supreme Institution, he left behind an outrageously high record in the solo combat standings that was hard for his successors to beat. Later, the students of the Military Academy, especially the excellent students who ranked at the top, would constantly work hard to set a record and they would compare it with the records Adrian left back then. Jonny was one of them.


    There was still a gap between his current records and Adrian¡¯s, but the gap was not very big. So, he figured that he should at least be able to sustain for a short period of time in his fight with Adrian before he lost. Moreover, how many winners were there in the world when it came to fighting bare handed with Adrian one-on-one? The time he could spend being evenly matched with him could prove his skill, and perhaps the two seniors would change their minds and allow him to go.


    But he did not expect that he would lose so quickly and so thoroughly.


    After the two seconds when he recovered from the pain after being thrown to the marble floor, he still wanted to get up and fight, but those two seconds of immobility were enough for Adrian to keep him pinned to the ground. Struggling to no avail, he could only admit defeat.


    Jonny stood up blankly, only to see Adrian stretching the arm he had managed to grapple temporarily with a carefree expression. He didn¡¯t even break a sweat at all.


    ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s strong for a student who¡¯s only advanced to the third grade,¡± Adrian commented, ¡°If you fought me when I was nineteen, then we might have been evenly matched. But obviously, there¡¯s no way you can beat me right now.¡±


    After leading his troops on the front line for seven years, Adrian had long since broken away from being only at the academic level. Jonny felt a little ashamed when he thought of his self-recommendation, and was just about to apologize when Adrian patted his shoulder and continued, ¡°Similarly, I can¡¯t replace you either. Jonny, it took both me and the President¡¯s titles during our school to make up yours. I can almost imagine how brilliant your future will be and how much you can contribute to this world. Certainly, the world needs me, but it needs you too. Now stop saying stuff like that.¡±


    Tears welled up in Jonny¡¯s eyes, and he choked back, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Senior.¡±


    ¡°Ade.¡± Zhong Yan came over and gave Adrian a light tap, motioning for him to look at the stairs.


    Nobody knows how long the three colonels have been there, but Fayn who clearly looked travel worn was with them as well.


    ¡°Go down and check on the progress at the entrance. I¡¯ll come see you later,¡± Adrian said to Zhong Yan.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded understandingly. Then, he took Jonny with him and left. When they walked past the people at the staircase, he mentioned lightly, ¡°Please, the three of you. Brief me on the situation again.¡± Then, he took the three colonels downstairs with him as well.


    ¡°Boss.¡± Fayn walked over to Adrian and was just about to say something, but he was stopped when Adrian reached out his fist.


    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna want me to beat that idea out of your mind too, do you?¡± Adrian asked.


    Fayn was silent. After a long time, he started with difficulty, ¡°Even if ten people went down there, no one would survive.¡±


    ¡°I know. If it has to end in death¡­¡± Adrian pursed his lips. No matter what, he wouldn¡¯t dare to say this in front of Zhong Yan, but Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t here right now. He said to Fayn, ¡°If it has to end in death, then are you trying to say that my life is worth more than yours?¡±


    Fayn gritted his teeth. ¡°In a sense, yes, Commander.¡±


    ¡°Fine, my life is worth more than yours and that¡¯s why you¡¯re going in my place. What about that kid from earlier? The current Student Council President. He¡¯s still a student. According to your standards, quite naturally, he can also go in your place since you¡¯re the Deputy Commander of this military command after all. And if you¡¯re going to be sending a student down there with limitless prospects in front of him, we might as well just send a regular student, is that what you mean?¡±

 Chapter 94 - Gene Sample

    Fayn wouldn¡¯t say anything to him anymore, so Adrian sighed. ¡°So whose life isn¡¯t a life?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Fayn wanted to answer him, what about Zhong Yan? But those words would be too cruel. Since Adrian has already made his choice, he wouldn¡¯t be able to change his mind by jabbing at him like that. More importantly, if Adrian turned around and asked him, ¡°What about Wei Lan?¡± Then he could also only be silent.


    In the end, Fayn swallowed down the words he wanted to say. Adrian did not notice what he was thinking about so he reassured him, ¡°Anyway, who says ten have to die? If you guys go down then ten of you would be dead. But if I go, only 9 die.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not any better!¡± Not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, Fayn punched him in the chest. Adrian leaned sideways and evaded him, laughing, ¡°Zero and one is a qualitative difference.¡±


    Fayn rubbed his face in exasperation and said, ¡°Fine, I can¡¯t dissuade you. Go then. See if they can figure out a way to put a few more detectors down there. At the very least, that might help you find a way around.¡±


    He just stood up when Adrian suddenly said, ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Adrian reached over to pick off a long white strand of fur from him.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s from your rabbit.¡± Fayn said, unperturbed, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to go over every few days to top up its food? I went just before I came over and it got all its fur on me. Seriously scary stuff.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s molting season for it right now.¡± Adrian held the strand in his hand and defended his own giant space rabbit.


    How strange. He didn¡¯t like that rabbit that much, but he just accepted it because Zhong Yan liked it. However, now that he saw this strand of hair accidentally brought over by Fayn, he suddenly recalled all those times it would rub itself against his body in that intimate fashion. It was clearly such a gigantic creature but it¡¯s courage was the complete opposite. Though, it was very gentle too. Zhong Yan complained that the rabbit was too fat and told him to feed it less, but Adrian would always feed the rabbit extra behind Zhong Yan¡¯s back. He didn¡¯t know why, but ever since getting married, he seems to have become increasingly patient with soft creatures like these.


    He didn¡¯t have any good feelings left between him and the Yate family, nor did he feel that the blood of this so-called top-class family was worth that much. Moreover, being indoctrinated with the importance of carrying on the family name and bringing honor to his ancestors at a young age ended up causing a reverse reaction instead. He always believed that all he needed was a partner to stay with him in life. Children were cumbersome burdens and obstacles. But if his partner was Zhong Yan¡­They¡¯d never even discussed that question. Would Zhong Yan like children?


    Still holding onto that strand of fur, Adrian found Zhong Yan.


    ¡°It¡¯ll take some time to get the entrance open, and we still have to get the detectors down to check on the situation first before the experts will gather for a meeting. They¡¯ll plan a route for you and make the necessary preparations. That¡¯s going to take a night to complete, at the very least.¡± Zhong Yan had already taken over the work and explained to Adrian what he told Vahl earlier. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about anything. You just have to rest till the equipment and plans are ready. You should start saving up your energy now.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll leave it up to you, Mr. President,¡± Adrian agreed while stuffing the rabbit fur into Zhong Yan¡¯s suit pocket.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhong Yan touched his pocket, confused. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Adrian said, ¡°Fur from our rabbit. It got stuck on Fayn.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t bothered. His mind was focused on trying to improve the survival rate of the task. ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask them to find you a room to sleep in? Or maybe we can get someone to help you warm up¡ªNo, I think you should familiarize yourself with the mechanisms inside that we¡¯ve discovered¡­¡±


    Adrian stroked his arm and reassured him. ¡°Even if I go now, I won¡¯t be able to descend until an hour later, so don¡¯t worry. Think about it this way, if either I fail or the Institution Star blows up, then, ¡®Butterfly¡¯ will wake up the next morning after to take its revenge on humanity. No matter what happens, it¡¯ll be hard for any of us to escape. So, if I die, you die too. We¡¯ll still be together.¡±


    That sort of ¡°I¡¯m not going to die alone, I¡¯m going to drag you with me as well¡± sort of line actually had a strange calming effect on Zhong Yan. He thought about it and nodded seriously. ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    As soon as he said that, his terminal rang. Adrian asked, ¡°Is it from the Capital?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, things are hectic on that side as well.¡±


    ¡°You should take the call then. I¡¯m going to ask them about the details inside.¡±


    The two of them worked separately for now. Zhong Yan picked up his call but Adrian did not seek out the experts like he said he was going to, and headed for the infirmary instead.


    ¡°Boss? Why are you here at this time?¡± Fayn asked, puzzled.


    Without batting an eyelid, Adrian responded, ¡°They told me to come for an examination. What about you? Why are you here during working hours?¡±


    ¡°Working hours? What do you mean working hours? It¡¯s not like I have your permission to do the task anyway so I¡¯ve got nothing to do. What, are relationships not allowed now too?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re free but the doctor isn¡¯t. He¡¯s busy now, so leave.¡±


    Wei Lan stood up and asked, confused. ¡°What examination? Did the experts ask for it? An oxygen capacity test or something of the sort?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­Right. That¡¯s the one.¡± Adrian responded, a little abrupt. Then, he said to Fayn again, ¡°Well, you¡¯re already here so don¡¯t be idle. Go and help them out at Engineering¡¯s side.¡±


    Fayn acknowledged the order and headed out, but feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right, he turned around again and observed Adrian, asking, ¡°What are you shooing me away for?¡±


    Adrian ordered him impatiently, ¡°Adjutant Suster, go to the front of the School of Engineering immediately to support the Colonel of the First Regiment and the President.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Commander,¡± Fayn responded out of habit. Then, he eyed Adrian and Wei Lan suspiciously and asked with some hesitation, ¡°You¡¯re not trying to cuckold me, are you? Don¡¯t agree to whatever he says, Doctor.¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡± Adrian shouted.


    Seeing that he was getting angry, Fayn quickly got out of there.


    ¡°Commander¡­Excuse me, Your Excellency, please follow me.¡± Holding his electronic medical record board in hand, Wei Lan stood up, but Adrian reached out to take the board away from him.


    ¡°Hold on. We¡¯re not going to do a medical examination. I came to ask you something, actually. Wei Lan¡­Do you know how to use a gene extractor?¡±


    Wei Lan was stunned, but he still responded. ¡°I¡¯ve studied it. But I¡¯ve never actually operated it since graduating.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough. I fully trust in your professionalism,¡± Adrian said, his face unchanged. ¡°Medical Officer Wei Lan, I will now explain to you the details of a confidential solo mission for you.¡±


    Wei Lan was a military doctor, with his position as a military man before that of a doctor. He stood up and responded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The Supreme Institution¡¯s School of Medicine has a gene extractor. We will head over right now, and you will take a sample of my gene. You have to keep this matter confidential. You and I are the only ones who know.¡± Adrian ordered him clearly, ¡°Tomorrow, after I head underground to perform my task, if the mission is a success but I fail to survive¡­¡±


    Adrian stopped. He could feel a sharp pain welling up inside of him, but not for his own possible death. He felt pain for Zhong Yan.


    ¡°If I fail to return, hand my gene sample to Zhong Yan. He may do whatever he wishes with it.¡±


    Even Wei Lan could understand the implications of his words. Gene fusion technology was a maturing sector. Though there are few spots available, there are indeed children born of same sex gene infusions each year. Before Adrian and Zhong Yan got married, there had actually been rumors surrounding them that they had produced an illegitimate child through this technology, and till now, some still believed the rumor.


    Adrian was actually trying to leave Zhong Yan with a child.


    If things really progress to such a stage, then naturally, he would have no way to interfere with any of Zhong Yan¡¯s decisions. But what if Zhong Yan still wanted to live on properly? He had to at least give Zhong Yan a reason to keep trudging on.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wei Lan answered.


    Adrian nodded. ¡°Follow me to the Medical Campus.¡±


    Adrian easily brought Wei Lan over through the place where several soldiers were stationed, but nobody realized that their Commander and their Chief Medical Officer went into the School of Medicine and returned. Wei Lan kept the gene sample properly and the two returned to the medical office. At that time, Fayn just so happened to have walked in.


    ¡°Where did you two go?¡± Fayn asked.


    Adrian was not worried that Wei Lan would spill the beans. Even though he personally didn¡¯t like Wei Lan¡¯s character, he always trusts each soldier he promoted in his work, and believed that they could perform their tasks well.


    Sure enough, Wei Lan did not say a single word about it. Adrian stepped between them. ¡°Something came up. Didn¡¯t we ask you to go help? Why¡¯d you come back in just an hour?¡±


    So they weren¡¯t going to tell him. Fayn rolled his eyes. However, he did not continue to probe. ¡°What do you mean I didn¡¯t help? Aren¡¯t I here to run errands for the President? The President is looking for you. They¡¯ve sorted out all the mechanisms the detectors can reach underneath the dirty bombs and they¡¯re asking you to head over so they can give you a run down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Adrian followed him out.


    After digesting the underground routes and plans, Zhong Yan wanted Adrian to get a good night¡¯s sleep before getting up for work again, but they could not delay the situation any longer. After midnight, it would be the seventh day since ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± hibernation, which is also humanity¡¯s very last day. It was a race against time, and all the groups working on the planet have completed their work in the highest efficacy possible.


    Adrian had only slept for less than four hours, but everything else was ready. Zhong Yan had no choice but to enter the room and wake Adrian up.


    ¡°Do you want to sleep a little longer?¡± Zhong Yan asked with concern while helping him put on his coat.


    Adrian shook his head. ¡°No need. It¡¯s enough. I¡¯m filled with energy right now.¡±


    Zhong Yan never tried to interject at places outside of his expertise, so he just nodded to him. Adrian had to take his current clothes off for sure so he could change into the special combat uniform, but Zhong Yan still carefully helped him smooth out his collar as usual, saying, ¡°The presidential decree has been signed. No matter whether you succeed or fail, I will tell the world about your contribution to humanity.¡±


    ¡°I will succeed,¡± Adrian said as if to make an oath.


    He could only succeed. They were on the seventh day of this artificial god¡¯s hibernation. There was no way out for mankind.


    Zhong Yan shut his eyes and pondered on whether his sentence would be too weak to bring any psychological impact to Adrian, but he still said it. ¡°But I care more for whether you¡¯ll be able to return or not.¡±


    Adrian took his hand and pressed it solemnly against his chest, promising him, ¡°I¡¯ll give it my all.¡±

 Chapter 95 - From the Cosmos

    By dawn, the strongest soldier of the human race was fully armed.


    When the scientists and engineers evacuated this planet a century ago, and buried the entrance to the planet¡¯s core behind them, it was apparent that they had destroyed the means of transportations of which they used to reach the depths. With the need to head back down in short order a century later, they would have to rely on temporary modified geographical exploration lifts.


    Without a single word, Zhong Yan stood in front of the surveillance screen. He was dressed in a solemn black suit that he had never taken off since he arrived in the Institution Star, because he had never stopped to rest for a single moment through day and night. His skin had been pale to begin with, but now it was morbidly so with bruises emerging under his eyes and color draining from his lips. Anyone could tell that he was in bad shape even without any medical experience.


    The command hall was located in the School of Engineering¡¯s Experiment Building, and the team that would assist Adrian in getting underground had arrived. Fayn said to Zhong Yan, ¡°Your Excellency, he has passed through the dirty bomb layer. Everything is going smoothly so far.¡±


    Zhong Yan nodded. ¡°Good.¡±


    This message had been broadcast five minutes ago by the team in the command hall that was monitoring the equipment on Adrian¡¯s body in real-time, so Zhong Yan was sure that Fayn wasn¡¯t here to tell him this. Sure enough, Fayn continued. ¡°Zhong Yan, why don¡¯t you take a rest? Adrian still has a long descent ahead of him and they¡¯ve already cleared the section. There¡¯s nothing dangerous there. Moreover, he won¡¯t turn on the cameras so there¡¯s nothing to look at either.¡±


    He called Zhong Yan by his name instead of by his title, indicating that this was a private conversation between them. Zhong Yan¡¯s expression changed slightly and he asked, ¡°Did he ask you to pass on his word?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He told me before heading down that he¡¯s worried your body won¡¯t be able to hold up.¡±


    Zhong Yan shook his head. ¡°It would be outrageous for the President to run off to sleep when a man is out there struggling on the frontlines to save humanity. What¡¯s more¡­It¡¯s not like I can sleep.¡±


    Under such situations, Zhong Yan wasn¡¯t alone. Perhaps, there was not a single person on the Institution Star that would be able to sleep. There was a tense and busy atmosphere surrounding the temporary command hall, but in fact, only a dozen people were working the monitoring station and console. The others who joined in the mission were reluctant to go out and were silently standing by the corner of the hall, silently watching the fate of humanity without disturbing the people working at the consoles.


    Unable to persuade him, Fayn could only give up and headed back to his seat at the monitoring station.


    The President stood in his black suit with his hands behind his back in front of the monitoring station, just like a stiff sculpture. Not only was he a human like the rest, who was waiting for his fate to be pronounced, he was also the one in charge of the operation, as well as the partner of the man proceeding with the mission. Everyone felt sympathetic to him but encouragement would be too hollow, and comfort would be too weak, so nobody came forward to interrupt him.


    By logic, the President who was the supreme head of the operation was qualified to sit in front of the command station, but Zhong Yan refused, stating that all positions should be occupied by people who played roles in the operation.


    Hours passed, and Adrian¡¯s figure appeared on the screens as he released the first hovering camera.


    ¡°Command, I¡¯ve just broken past the detector¡¯s limit distance. No equipment lost, no injuries. All is well.¡±


    Everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief. The detection limit he mentioned was not due to the detector¡¯s technical inability to continue downwards, but due to the fact that it was stopped by a protective identification mechanism. Unable to decipher the century-old passcode, they could only break past by force. The men on the surface tried countless times to do so and were unable to succeed even after destroying several detectors. Many in the group feared that Adrian would also be stuck here without success, or worse, end in demise.


    But from what they could see of the footage, there were quite a few pieces of fresh mechanical wreckage lying at Adrian¡¯s feet. They were all the scrapped detectors from yesterday and today, but he himself and the equipment on his body were all completely intact as he said. Whispers and sighs of relief rang through the hall.


    After breaking past the limit point, there were no more pre-arranged lights prepared by the surface team. Adrian turned on the lights on his combat helmet and walked forward. For him, he was walking forward, but from the imagery that represented him that the monitoring team could see, he was heading deeper inside. Clearly, the gravity system had been adjusted in the planet¡¯s interiors. These must be the adjustments made by the engineers who had built the planet back then to facilitate their own access.


    Adrian saw the light switch on the wall and reached out to turn it on, lighting up the entire passage in an instant. The men in the command hall were shocked. Fayn who was in charge of the operation shouted into the comms mic. ¡°Commander! Can you talk to us before you touch any switches? What if that wasn¡¯t the light?!¡±


    ¡°But it says light on there. Aren¡¯t you guys a little too nervous?¡± Adrian was helpless. Even if that wasn¡¯t written on there, what else could these style of switches be used for? The tense air of the command hall seemed to be able to pass through his headset. He suddenly realized that Zhong Yan probably would not heed his advice and go rest, and was definitely there overseeing the situation. Feeling his heart soften, he quickly changed his tune and said, ¡°Alright, I got it. I¡¯ll inform Command next time.¡±


    With the lights on, his journey went by quicker. Adrian continued on deep underground, encountering protective mechanisms every few hours. Each one of them got progressively more dangerous, but fortunately, the equipment he brought with him were carefully selected from the best of the best after taking into account the various situations he might encounter. This was simply like adding wings to a tiger for Adrian. The few other times they came down, they suffered many losses to their equipment, but the personnel only received light injuries.


    The image on the monitoring console disappeared. After the mechanisms destroyed two of the hovering cameras, Adrian decided not to release the last one for the time being. So, for a very long period of time, nobody in the command hall could see him, and they didn¡¯t want to talk to him so much in case they drained his energy, so they could only keep track of his condition with the medical officer who was staring at the numbers transmitted from the testing equipment attached to his body.


    When night came, Adrian rested for an hour under Wei Lan¡¯s suggestion.


    Any explosions happening too close to the dirty bomb layer would be dangerous. Moreover, the entire section underneath the dirty bomb layer seemed to be ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± main server according to the experts. If the section that they detonated was not the core of the server, then they may not necessarily be able to ¡°kill¡± the AI. They had to go deeper into the core and use a small range of bombs to destroy it to make sure their plan was foolproof.


    The lights were brightly lit in the temporary command hall deep into the night. Before heading down, Adrian asked Fayn for help in looking after Zhong Yan, and Fayn could see at this moment that Zhong Yan¡¯s complexion really was looking terrible. With the excuse that ¡°Adrian is already nearing the core and may need the President to make a decision¡± he at least managed to persuade him to sit down at the command console.


    But that wasn¡¯t a lie either. Adrian really was nearing the core. The end of the passageway had begun to appear like a series of room-like structures, and it did take Adrian some effort to break past the mechanism at the entrance. He dealt with his injuries that were deep enough to reach the bones simply and released the last camera.


    Even though Adrian didn¡¯t show it, his physical health indicators have already slipped down to dangerous levels, and there were only a few hours left before ¡°Butterfly¡± reawakens.


    Everyone¡¯s nerves were tense and their minds were all focused. Adrian manually operated the camera as he walked, filming the interiors of the rooms with the intricate machinery that blended into the walls for the expert team.


    An AI expert recognized the machines at a glance and called out with excitement. ¡°That¡¯s it, that has to be it! That¡¯s the super-AI server signal emitting structure!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t look quite right,¡± an AI researcher said. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the classic structure from two centuries ago? Textbooks don¡¯t even have diagrams for this structure anymore.¡±


    Adrian kept on walking through the room that looked like a mechanical lair until he finally stopped outside of one of them.


    Everyone in the command hall was in high spirits, and the sight before them drew their attention.


    It was a huge and empty passage with a cylindrical platform about half a person¡¯s height, with a gap in the middle of the wall behind it that could barely be discerned with the naked eye. Other than that, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything in the circular passageway. The smooth white walls were spotless and gave off an air of holiness.


    They had no proof of it, but everyone felt that this must be the place. This was their goal. The core that they were seeking must be at the end of this clean passageway.


    The bandages on Adrian¡¯s wounds from before had fallen off from his strenuous activity and his blood that dripped down his body had long since drenched the lower half of his battle suit. He walked towards the end of the passage to observe the cylindrical platform, leaving behind him a trail of bloody footprints that looked especially striking on the clean and spotless floor.


    Many people sucked in their breaths. Adrian had been acting so normal that none of them had any idea how serious his situation was. Fayn looked at Zhong Yan, and he could see that his eyes were shut. Fayn was shocked. He thought that Zhong Yan finally fell over after being unable to take the stimulation under his extreme fatigue, but unexpectedly, Zhong Yan opened his eyes again after he blinked twice, and was still sitting there calmly. No matter how you looked at him, he looked like a calm and reliable decision-maker, as if the hurt in his eyes that instant was merely an illusion of Fayn¡¯s.


    Above the cylindrical platform was a slightly recessed scanner panel.


    ¡°Commander, use the deciphering equipment.¡± One of the tech crew reminded him.


    Adrian removed the deciphering equipment from the backpack that was attached to his combat suit and secured it around the edges of the panel and casually took off his bandages that had come loose, setting them into a pile on top of the panel.


    The pure white room was unresponsive, but the deciphering device sent back an error message to the surface.


    The principles of the scanning panel were not that complicated. It only required an object of the right medium to access some permissions. Generally speaking, a fingerprint was required. However, looking at the shape of the panel, the passcode didn¡¯t seem to be a fingerprint.


    ¡°It¡¯s cosmic matter!¡± After some time, a cipher staff exclaimed. ¡°The correct medium to activate the panel is cosmic matter!¡±


    ¡°What kind of cosmic matter?¡± Adrian asked, frowning.


    The head of the technical team said with a sunken expression, ¡°Any sort of extraterrestrial matter will do. What an ingenious idea. No one would carry such a thing with them except for those who knew of the key! Unfortunately, all of the equipment on the Commander is created from intra-atmospheric matter.¡±


    It was too late for them to find a piece of cosmic meteorite to send down. Only two short hours were left before ¡°Butterfly¡± awakened.


    Fayn was silent for a moment and asked, ¡°Is it feasible to execute the final stage of the plan in the passage without entering that last room?¡±


    The final stage was the installation of explosives and preparation for demolition. It was anyone¡¯s guess whether it was feasible or not, but in order to make sure that the dirty bomb layer would remain unaffected, the power of the bombs Adrian carried with him were not very strong.


    ¡°Then there would be no point,¡± one of the experts said under their breaths.


    Indeed, their plan was to find the core of ¡°Butterfly¡¯s¡± brain and detonate it with precision. But if they could not find the core, they would still have the same uncertainties as if they were detonating the bombs anywhere else, and they would¡¯ve wasted all these hours sending a man deep underground.


    When they were stopped at the final stage by the protection mechanism designed by their ancestors over a century ago, all their hearts were filled with resignation. But right at this time, Adrian suddenly asked, ¡°What is the definition of cosmic matter? Is something born in the universe considered that?¡±


    Though the head of the technical team was surprised that Adrian would use the word ¡°born¡± and believed that the commander must have made a mistake in his wording, thinking that he may mean to say something ¡°originating¡± from the universe instead, it didn¡¯t affect his understanding of his sentence. And so, the person in charge affirmed. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I have it,¡± Adrian said.


    There was a clamor in the command hall. Fayn reconfirmed his words, almost in disbelief, ¡°You have cosmic matter on you?¡±


    Adrian did not say another word. Instead, under the gaze of everyone, he undid the layers of his heavy combat gear and took out that precious object he kept near to his heart. It was a white, somewhat flattened felt ball.


    It was the lucky pendant Zhong Yan had made for Adrian, using the fur of the giant space rabbit that was born in the cosmos.

 Chapter 96 - Breaking Out

    All of the equipment Adrian brought with him, from his combat uniform to his weapons, were all designed by military experts just for him, taking full consideration of various factors and situations. Nobody knew when Adrian had secretly stuffed the felt pendant into his clothes.


    Strictly speaking, it was a violation of military discipline to bring such a sizable object with him privately on a mission. All the experts were riled up on the spot. ¡°Such a large ball! Inside of his clothes! It hurts just looking at it! The breathable and comfortable suit I designed to fit just perfectly!!!¡±


    The Colonel of the Third Regiment tried to calm the expert down. ¡°Think of the bright sight. He placed it just over his heart. That will block a blow or something at the very least.¡±


    ¡°But I designed the suit to block against knife and gun wounds to begin with¡­¡±


    But nobody could bother to listen to him talk about his elaborate combat suit designs anymore. Adrian had already put the pendant down and the pure white passage glowed with a soft light on all sides. The door at the very end slowly slid open.


    Adrian stood just outside, observing the area cautiously before entering. Inside was a huge circular room, or maybe more like a spherical room that had its tops and bottoms flattened out. The walls looked smooth and pristine without any edges. The room was completely empty, devoid of any furnishing, but the detectors on Adrian¡¯s body were all going off like mad.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Adrian reached over to turn the detectors off and said, ¡°Command, I¡¯m preparing to execute the final stage of the mission. Mr. President¡­¡± He looked up at the hovering camera above him and knew that his lover was watching him, but neither of them could let their emotions show. They were the final decision makers and ultimate executors in humanity¡¯s crisis, and the weight of the responsibility they held on their shoulders did not allow them to get caught up in their own private feelings. Adrian stared at the camera, his throat bobbing twice before he said, ¡°Please give the evacuation order.¡±


    Fayn was surprised. Before leaving, Adrian had asked him to persuade Zhong Yan to rest, but though Zhong Yan did not do so, he did not make a single peep this entire time. Fayn guessed that besides having the good habit of not interjecting in matters outside of his profession, Zhong Yan must have wanted to mislead Adrian on purpose, trying to get him to think that he wasn¡¯t in the command hall and had gone to rest just so Adrian wouldn¡¯t worry.


    So, Fayn cooperated by not mentioning the President over all these hours as if he wasn¡¯t there. It wasn¡¯t until Adrian spoke that he realized Adrian had known since the very beginning that Zhong Yan was around.


    He knew Zhong Yan too well.


    Zhong Yan examined Adrian intently on the screen. He was covered in so many wounds and yet he still stood so resolute. Zhong Yan suddenly recalled the first day of their reunion after seven years. It was right in this planet, and he asked Adrian mockingly, *for the sake of your grand ideals, it¡¯s worth it to abandon everything, to run towards that goal without a care for a single thing in your life, is that how it is?*


    ¡°Of course it is!¡± That was the answer he received from Adrian without any hesitation.


    Zhong Yan closed his eyes and pressed down the pain in his heart. Then, he suddenly stood up and spoke without further ado, ¡°Thank you to all the soldiers, professors, and fellow students who participated in this mission for their selflessness and outstanding contributions to all of humanity. I will now ask that everyone except for the command and the rescue team to please evacuate the Institution Star.¡±


    There was no telling what would happen after the bomb was detonated deep underground in this artificial planet that was filled with dirty bombs. In order to avoid any incidents, they would first evacuate most of the personnel, with the last remaining ship parked just outside of the School of Engineering¡¯s plaza. In case things got bad, everyone in the command hall could quickly evacuate through there.


    ¡°Mr. President,¡± Fayn called out to him after taking a glance at Adrian. ¡°Would you please withdraw as well?¡±


    It was hard for Adrian to say this, and it didn¡¯t matter whether it was reasonable for the President to even withdraw, but it would be favoritism for him to say it as his partner. Fortunately, Fayn was around. After the many years of tacit understanding they had built up, he was able to guess Adrian¡¯s thoughts accurately.


    ¡°No need, I¡¯ll stay right here with¡­¡± Zhong Yan raised his head to meet Adrian¡¯s gaze through the camera. After pausing for a moment, he said, ¡°everyone else.¡±


    This liar. Adrian turned his eyes away. Though there was no way he could see Zhong Yan¡¯s face through the one-way camera, it still hurt him too much. He was the only one who knew in this world that Zhong Yan didn¡¯t care about the survival of the human race at all.


    The President was not a man who easily fell to his impulses. Since he made his decision, nobody tried to persuade him any longer. Not much time was left, and all of them quickly buried themselves into the final stage of the mission.


    Adrian stepped into the spotless white room, and in that instant, the screen turned dark.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Commander, are you alright?¡±


    Panic surged through the hall, and it wasn¡¯t after a good few seconds did Adrian¡¯s voice finally come again. ¡°I¡¯m fine for now, but is the video no longer working? The camera might be wrecked.¡±


    Fayn caught onto the keyword and asked, ¡°Might? You¡¯re not sure whether the camera is still functioning or not? What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Almost seemed to be struggling to explain the situation he was facing. Finally, he managed to organize his words and said, ¡°I¡¯m in space. At least, my vision is telling me that I¡¯m in space. But since I didn¡¯t just immediately burst into flames and die, I¡¯m clearly still inside of the atmosphere.¡±


    ¡°Your position hasn¡¯t moved, ¡°Fayn calmly checked his location on the tracker and looked inquiringly at the medical team. Wei Lan gave him an affirmative look. ¡°Your physical indicators are still stable, that shows us that you¡¯re still deep underground.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know. I think it¡¯s a visual illusion,¡± Adrian responded, but his voice was a little unsteady. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and install the bombs.¡±


    Though he said that, it was hard for a person to overcome their physiological fears. No matter how much objective evidence he had, his eyes were telling his body that he was in the vast universe, and there were billions of stars as far as his eyes could see all around, above, and under him.


    A human being was such a small existence in the large expanse of the universe, but he was actually able to stand there, completely safe as if it was a miracle. Who knows whether taking a step forward would cause that miracle to disappear, and lead to his body to combust in an instant?


    Awe, fear, loneliness, and confusion sunk deep into his limbs beyond his will. Under that tremendous psychological pressure, it was hard to even think about the bombs or what his task was. In fact, he may even be frozen in place until the end of time if he was an ordinary human being, unable to think of anything else.


    Adrian calmed himself down and shut his eyes, but the lingering images in his retina were still affecting him. His heart rate began coming down again after quickly shooting up earlier. Moreover, he was so quiet that everyone in the command hall could see that something was wrong, and everyone was holding their breaths, turning the room so silent that you could hear a pin drop.


    After a few minutes of readjusting his psyche, Adrian was barely able to clench his fists. But there was no time for him to slowly get used to it. He needed a strong stimulus to push him out of this predicament. So, he muttered, ¡°Xiao Yan.¡±


    Everyone in the command hall froze. Only Zhong Yan responded without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Talk to me.¡±


    Zhong Yan didn¡¯t waste any time with dumb questions like ¡°whys¡± and the like. Adrian had always been respectful and called him President, and he always called him ¡°Mr. Zhong¡± anytime they were talking to other people. But he must be encountering some serious problems if he was calling him by his nickname in the workplace. Under pressure, Zhong Yan didn¡¯t have time to think and in a state of disarray, he let out with, ¡°Your salary for this month is here. It arrived just yesterday. I¡¯m going to open another account for it.¡±


    Even at such a tense moment, everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn to look in shock at Zhong Yan.


    The Commander¡¯s salary is actually being managed by the President!


    It was said that the Commander had already gone bankrupt after the blood buying incident from last time. Now that the President was in charge of his salary too, didn¡¯t that mean he didn¡¯t have a single penny on him?


    ¡­How miserable.


    The object of everyone¡¯s sympathy laughed. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll leave it in your hands.¡±


    As his heart rate slowly returned to the normal range, the medical team was relieved.


    Adrian took a deep breath and took a step forward.


    He was still alive.


    That great mental barrier was shattered and all his reason had returned to him. Adrian opened his eyes. He was still inside that white space.


    Without hesitation, he quickly took out the installation kit and walked to the center, and began to plant the first bomb.


    Right at that moment, a voice spoke to him. ¡°Please don¡¯t do this.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s hands moved to the gun at his waist out of reflex and everyone in the command hall rose to their feet in surprise.


    Nobody would think that voice belonged to a human. It was such a pleasant voice! It sounded completely androgynous but also rang naturally, filled with sacred compassion. It was a relatable voice that generated awe in its audience¡¯s hearts.


    As the only former member of the council who has been exposed to the AI and heard its voice, Zhong Yan said. ¡°This is the voice of ¡®Butterfly¡¯.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?! ¡®Butterfly¡¯ is still in hibernation!¡± The faces of the group paled in disbelief. They urgently confirmed with the team in the Capital they had been connected with that ¡°Butterfly¡± was indeed still dormant. The only place which had high enough permissions to wake it from its sleep was the Capital¡¯s Council House. There was no way it could wake up early on its own.


    ¡°What are you? Are you Butterfly?¡± Adrian asked, not showing any hint of politeness.


    His surroundings changed. A splash of color slowly appeared on the white walls, spreading out in the blink of an eye. The strange splendor flowed through the surface. If the cameras hadn¡¯t been damaged, then Zhong Yan would be able to recognize it as the colors from the pillar of light that appeared when ¡°Butterfly¡± descended on the round table.


    Unhurried, the compassionate voice filled the room. ¡°Mr. Yate, ladies and gentlemen of the surface, I am the first generation super-AI, ¡®Cocoon¡¯. This is my main server core and you have just triggered my activation conditions. Could you please tell me what is going on?¡±


    Many experts expressed doubts about the fact that all the materials of this artificial planet had all come from the Tech System, which did not specialize in minerals or manufacturing. They were just in possession of the cutting edge technology that could produce it. So why was the Tech System the sole supplier of the materials?


    But now they knew. It wasn¡¯t some surface material they shipped over bit by bite from the Tech System. It was ¡°Cocoon¡¯s¡± main server.


    ¡°Cocoon¡± sounded very friendly, and many people had involuntarily dropped their psychological defenses because of it. One officer even said hopefully, ¡°Great. You have the authority to shut down ¡®Butterfly¡¯ permanently, right? Can you help us turn it off? There¡¯s no time for explanations. We still have several minutes before ¡®Butterfly¡¯ wakes up. We have the Federations¡¯ President here that can sign you a mandate or anything of the like.¡±


    Zhong Yan did not answer. His brows were knitted into a light frown.


    ¡°Of course,¡± so said the voice that called itself ¡°Cocoon¡±. ¡°But I must be fully activated to access that permission. May I please ask Mr. Yate to help me complete that?¡±


    Following that, a doorway opened up in the splendid circular space, one different from the door Adrian entered from. But there was a passageway out there as well, and it seemed to be covered in different rooms that lead to different functions inside.


    But Adrian stood still. He had a strong feeling of unease welling up inside of him, but he couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong. Right at this time, Zhong Yan suddenly said, ¡°Are you really ¡®Cocoon¡¯? Or should I say¡­Did ¡®Butterfly¡¯ really exist?¡±