Chapter 86

Chapter 86

The room suddenly felt cramped.

Lin Fu lay peacefully on the bed, encircled within Cheng Jiu's arms, in a posture of confinement.

He gazed at Cheng Jiu, his lips pale with a gentle curvature, dark eyes gleaming with a clear, unflinching mirth, unabashedly laying his heartfelt emotions before the one he adored.

He was always like this, always catching others off guard with his forthrightness, stirring up an uncontrollable affection.

Cheng Jiu's Adam's apple bobbed several times before he spoke in a hoarse voice, "So, should I keep you hanging and agree after a while?"

Lin Fu squinted with a smile, "Of course, you can wait until the entire empire knows I'm pursuing you, then take your time to decide on a good day to accept me."

Warmth climbed between the two, or perhaps it climbed only upon Cheng Jiu himself. His forehead glistened with sweat, a flush spread over his skin, while the person who spoke these words lay in his arms like a cheeky scoundrel, calmly watching him, amused.

Cheng Jiu felt this couldn't continue.

His arms, braced on Lin Fu's shoulders, tightened, drawing him close, one hand cradling the nape of his neck, claiming his lips in a fervent kiss.

The warmth finally spread from him to Lin Fu, the blaze between them leaving their eyes and cheeks flushed with feverish color, breaths coming in short gasps.

Cheng Jiu kissed as though to devour him, channeling his pent-up frustrations, nibbling and biting, their hot breaths spraying on each other's faces.

The duration of the kiss remained unknown to both.

It lasted until Lin Fu's strength faltered, his eyes reddened as he clutched Cheng Jiu's shoulders. Only then did Cheng Jiu reluctantly let go, enfolding him in his arms, allowing him to hear the thunderous beating of his heart.

This was not their first kiss.

But it was the first to burn this fiercely.

Cheng Jiu bowed his head and gently touched the reddened corners of Lin Fu's eyes with his lips, no longer willing to harbor the unexplained and inexplicable petulance towards his little guide.

But this kiss had exhausted Lin Fu, who now lay drowsy in Cheng Jiu's embrace.

Holding onto the hem of Cheng Jiu's clothes, he murmured, "I want to sleep for a while, remember to wake me up."

Cheng Jiu: "Mhm, okay."

He listened to Lin Fu's breathing gradually steady, carefully laying him back on the bed as one would treat a rare and precious jewel.

If time permitted, he would very much like to stay here and sleep alongside his little guide.

Lin Fu was indeed exhausted, his frailty evident. As the charming flush on his cheeks and at the corners of his eyes faded, his skin turned a worrying shade of pale.

Cheng Jiu watched him for a long while, only resting easy after stepping out of the room and having the accompanying medic check on him once more.

During Lin Fu's slumber, Cheng Jiu was quite occupied.

He had to manage the affairs of two legions; now that Lin Fu was clearly unfit to handle the Fourth Legion's matters, his future betrothed felt a duty to step in.

Aboard the Fourth Legion's spacecraft, the guards stole cautious glances at the commander of the Ninth Legion tending to their general with an air of buoyant affection, utterly baffled.

Cheng Jiu failed to fulfill Lin Fu's request to wake him up a few hours later.

He sat in the room for a long while, fingers gently brushing through Lin Fu's soft hair, his gaze tender.

Compared to himself, his little guide's features still appeared youthful in sleep. Pale and slender, he resembled a fragile, exquisite piece of celadon jade, seemingly breakable upon touch yet remarkably resilient.

He was someone who, from the very beginning, harbored ulterior motives, only wishing to covet a naive youngster.

By that account, he was truly a beast.

Cheng Jiu laughed at his own thoughts.

Shedding his coat and military boots, he slipped into bed with careful ease, drawing the slumbering figure into his embrace, and slept the most tranquil sleep he'd had in months.

Even after a confession, there's still much to be done.

Even in joy, one mustn't lose oneself in self-congratulation.

When Lin Fu disclosed the survival of Lin Si Cheng to Cheng Jiu, he wasn't too shocked.

Both had their suspicions about this matter, with Lin Fu even discussing it with Principal Karl, yet they were hampered by a lack of evidence.

Morxie's appearance solidified Lin Fu's conjectures.

What truly caught Cheng Jiu off guard was the revelation that the Zerg could take human form.

By the time he rushed to the Thorn Forest in the Sebei District, Morxie had been executed, reverting to his original wormlike form, leaving Cheng Jiu none the wiser.

Lin Fu said, "There's no need for excessive worry. According to its own words, the Zerg capable of human transformation are exceedingly rare even among the higher ranks of their kind. We were at a disadvantage due to ignorance before, but now that we're aware, we can be prepared."

Moreover, with the news of the Zerg's ability to morph into humans, many things started to make sense.

Although the massive Zerg couldn't penetrate the core domains of the Imperial Star, their human-formed counterparts could.

Coupled with the assistance of the royal family and the council, it's hard to say how high they might climb and where they might lurk.

Cheng Jiu immediately understood: "You mean to say that this Zerg tide was a collaboration with the royal family, and that's why you ordered the extraction of Planet S177 after the death of the humanoid Zerg because you knew this battle was just a performance aimed at everyone but you?"

With Morl Xie dead and the objective to kill Lin Fu unachieved, the insect tide on planet S177 would not linger for long.

But in the interest of cooperation with the royal family, they would launch a ferocious assault, heavily damaging the Fourth Legion, paving the way for the crown prince to secure the ultimate victory and ascend as a monument to human heroism.

Abandoning S177 and retracting to the defenses of the Class-A planets, plunging the Fourth Legion's public opinion to a nadir, disappointing the populace, and creating a situation seemingly extremely unfavorable to them, would satisfy the insectoids, or rather, the royal family, who would then be content to conclude the war in their preferred stance of victors.

Lin Fu opted for a tactic that, though ostensibly detrimental, was actually designed to reduce losses to a minimum.

Seated beside the bay window, watching the fleeting cosmic galaxies outside, he mused, "This return to the Imperial Capital Star means a temporary withdrawal from the front lines. During this period, I must devise a way to return to the Lin family. Lin Sicheng is still alive; the Lin family must be aware, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to poison and hunt me down."

……

The journey from the Fourth Army's main star to the Imperial Capital Star takes well over a month.

After the war, they did not set off for the Imperial Capital Star immediately, delaying for a week.

Furthermore, Lin Fu's weakened state prevented him from enduring the rigors of high-intensity warp jumps, resulting in their arrival at the Imperial Capital Star over half a month later than the other legions.

The royal family naturally would not miss such an opportunity, posturing with feigned concern online, claiming the delay in the military report was to await the arrival of both the Ninth and Fourth Legions.

It was even expressed with a semblance of sympathy that, given the severe losses of the two great legions, their delay in reaching the Imperial Capital Star for repairs was completely understandable.

The public's anger was fueled further, reaching a fever pitch.

Lin Fu was well aware of the movements on the star network.

As he descended from the military ship's gangway, Cheng Jiu followed half a step behind, his hand loosely guarding Lin Fu's waist, his dark green cloak draping over half of Lin Fu's body.

From a distance, it almost appeared as if Cheng Jiu was cradling Lin Fu in his arms as he led him down.

The port was cleared of personnel, with numerous media reporters anxiously waiting at the edge, operating miniature cameras to capture distant scenes just shy of the caution line.

As the figures gradually approached, they swarmed forward, each voice louder than the last:

"Major Lin, do you have anything to say to the populace regarding the defeat and the loss of the S-class planetary defense line?"

"General Cheng, why have you arrived at the Imperial Capital Star simultaneously with the Fourth Legion? Your close stance with Major Lin seems quite intimate. Does this indicate a union between the two legions, or is it that the Fourth Legion is unable to uphold its frontline defensive duties and has decided to merge with the Ninth Legion?"

"Major Lin, will you be resigning your command of the Fourth Legion? Do you now also believe that guides are not suited to lead in war, and that sentinels should assume command instead?"

"May I ask—"

"I'd like to inquire—"

Lin Fu, without a sideward glance, suddenly halted in his tracks.

He turned his head, facing the reporters who seemed eager to thrust their cameras in his face, a smile appearing on his pallid face, his eyes deep and dark, silently commanding, causing everyone who saw him to involuntarily close their mouths and fall silent.

With a calm tone, he uttered a profoundly arrogant statement: "The S-class planet was conquered by me, and even if it's lost, it's my affair. I owe no apologies. I'm relinquishing command of the Fourth Legion; which sentinel would you like to take over? A bunch of faint-hearted shrimps who cower in the rear and dare not enter the battlefield?"

Although he appeared pale and frail, his dark blue military uniform clung to his slender body, the waist belt accentuating a contour that seemed as if it might snap at the slightest bend.

Yet, every person who met his gaze found themselves silenced, utterly daunted by his presence.