Chapter 109: The End

Chapter 109: The End

After speaking, Xu Qingran closed his eyes and passed out.

The weight on Shen Tingyu increased.

He held Xu Qingran firmly around the waist, keeping him steady. As more devils closed in, Shen Tingyu had to free one hand to draw his Psychic Gun and begin counterattacking.

Fortunately, Shen Tingyu had extensive combat experience.

Even with a human-shaped burden in his arms, it didn't stop him from detecting the devils' source crystals and launching precise attacks. With nearby elite team members assisting, the devils trying to grab Xu Qingran couldn't get the upper hand.

Along with Shen Tingyu's support team, a devil army summoned from the edges of various galaxies also arrived. The battlefield reached a standstill. Noticing the reinforcements arriving, the white dog roused the black dog, and together they broke through the devil horde to reach Shen Tingyu's side.

The white dog gave him a meaningful look.

Understanding it, Shen Tingyu did not refuse. He put Xu Qingran on its back and concentrated on clearing the way.

Only when the second wave of reinforcements arrived did the battlefield pressure ease. Shen Tingyu ordered everyone to retreat.

The short trip from the abandoned planet to the battleship was still a major challenge.

Flight Class III, experts in aerial combat, had already filled their retreat route, clearly determined not to let them escape. Especially Shen Tingyu's fighter, which was targeted by over eighty percent of the devil army.

If Shen Tingyu hadn't been a master pilot, breaking through such a strategic aerial encirclement would have been nearly impossible.

On the battleship, Xie Nanjun directed the crew to approach and assist, blasting cannons and hurling explosives. After a chaotic battle lasting several dozen minutes, all fighters, including Shen Tingyu's, were successfully brought back aboard.

Xie Nanjun let out a sigh of relief.

However, Shen Tingyu quickly rushed to the control room, his expression grave. He opened the comms and informed the crew: "Immediately switch to the next jump coordinates. We are not returning to Lyra."

The control console operators were shocked, turning to look at him in unison: "...Then, where should we go?"

Shen Tingyu stared at the radar, where target dots were continuously converging on the battleship from all directions, and replied in a deep voice, "Random."

"Anywhere is fine, as long as it's not back to any other galaxy."

By now, everyone had noticed the anomalies on the radar displayed on the large data screen.

Switching to the external camera feed, they could see the dark, empty space filled with various devil hordes surging toward them like a tidal wave. Particularly the Class I devils, which had temporarily combined several massive parent bodies to form a writhing net, speeding toward them.

The black-and-white Class III devils also clustered together, mimicking the shape of human aircraft and approaching the battleship at supersonic speed.

Shocked by this unprecedented massive assault, no one dared to ask further questions. They immediately steered the battleship onto the most suitable path, accelerating and successfully opening a jump channel before the devil army could encircle them, leaving the current coordinates.

The new coordinates were indeed random.

Aside from the initial prefix ensuring they remained within the Kayan Empire's territory, the exact location needed to be re-determined. The only good news was that the new coordinates were temporarily free of devil activity.

The control room fell into silence, still immersed in the tension of the recent danger.

They started to question what was happening.

—Were these devils going mad because of Colonel Xu?

What on earth had Colonel Xu done to provoke such a furious, united attack from them?!

They thought General Shen might know the answer.

But seeing his stormy expression, they didn't dare to ask.

Everyone was relieved to have escaped the encirclement of the demon horde, but Shen Tingyu didn't feel the same way.

He stared at the still calculating and updating coordinates and said to everyone, "Stay alert. We must remain vigilant of our surroundings in the coming days. Once any demon traces appear within the radar range, don't hesitate—initiate a new jump immediately."

Xie Nanjun, standing next to him, frowned and asked, "Why are we running?"

"I mean, we're aboard the Golden Wings' most advanced battleship. We have sufficient military personnel, resources, and weaponry. We should be able to take on those demons. Why are we wasting all our energy on fleeing and jumping?"

Shen Tingyu replied calmly, "You're right. If it were just the group of demons that surrounded us earlier, with a new plan and proper preparation, we could indeed fight them."

"But that's a big 'if'."

Xie Nanjun was taken aback.

Then he heard Shen Tingyu say, "Next time we face those demons, their numbers will only have grown."

"Perhaps, to achieve their goal, they might summon their allies currently wandering in other star systems of the empire—of course, this is just my current speculation. Whether we can act will depend on the results of the next few tracking attempts."

"If the demon horde doesn't grow, we'll strike back."

After listening, Xie Nanjun roughly understood the severity of the situation.

He voiced the biggest question in everyone's mind, "Wait, what did Xu Qingran do to earn such hatred?"

Everyone at their stations perked up their ears.

But Shen Tingyu didn't immediately provide an answer. After a moment of silence, he said, "If we resolve this smoothly, I'll organize a full explanation for everyone."

"For now, just follow my orders."

Everyone quickly agreed.

The navigation officer in the control room turned around and said, "Our current position has been updated; we're in the space between the Virgo and Silver Dragon Centaurus systems. So, General, are we just drifting here? Not docking at any star system?"

"Yes," Shen Tingyu replied.

Silence fell once more.

With Shen Tingyu's assurance, they stopped asking questions and focused on their tasks.

After confirming the control room's arrangements, Shen Tingyu patted Xie Nanjun's shoulder and said, "Thanks."

With that, he left, likely to check on Xu Qingran.

To ensure the battleship's safety, Shen Tingyu hadn't had the chance to arrange for Xu Qingran immediately upon returning. Xu Qingran was still in his aircraft.

Guarding him were two large dogs, White and Black. So when Shen Tingyu returned to the aircraft, Xu Qingran was sleeping in the back seat—not exactly peacefully, but he hadn't been disturbed, and his condition was relatively stable.

Shen Tingyu reached out, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and headed towards his own quarters.

In the silence, a frantic, childlike voice echoed in his mind.

"Will big brother be okay?"

This is Shen Tingyu hearing Xu Qingran's voice again after the previous dream.

It was lively and spirited, but at this moment, there was an obvious concern.

Before Shen Tingyu had a chance to reply, another cold voice came through mercilessly: "It wouldn't be a shock if something went wrong."

"He just escaped the jaws of death, only to dive right back in. He deserves it."

Clearly, System 002 was dissatisfied with having agents like Xu Qingran and Xu Qingyao under its command, who were always making bold decisions on their own without a care for anyone else's worries. Especially their actions, which seemed to be pushing all the wrong buttons.

Shen Tingyu lowered his gaze.

He thought to himself that he could really sympathize with System 002. Dealing with two such unique individuals was a real headache.

"You cold, heartless machine, you wouldn't get what my brother's going through! Hmph!"

Xu Qingyao believed her brother was the most amazing and greatest in the world!

Shen Tingyu smiled silently.

Taking a moment to reply: "Don't worry, he'll be just fine."

Shen Tingyu carried him back to the room and laid him on the bed.

Noticing that he didn't look too well, and his mental energy seemed to be draining away. After frowning and thinking for a while, he pulled him up again, removing his gloves with growing confidence and ease.

He gently pressed his thumb against the soul mark that had darkened in color, confirming their permanent soulmate bond.

Shen Tingyu's other hand supported the back of Xu Qingran's neck, and he sighed softly, looking at his closed eyes and still, long lashes.

Murmuring: "Sometimes, I really feel like getting mad at you."

The person in a deep sleep naturally wouldn't respond.

He didn't mind, continuing to mutter: "You just take advantage of how patient I am with you."

Type E is supposed to be completely under Type D's control.

After saying this, Shen Tingyu slightly increased the force on the hand supporting Xu Qingran, pressing his head forward until their foreheads touched.

Then he slowly closed his eyes, and as he made contact with his soul mark, he shared his own mental energy with Xu Qingran—this is the privilege of two souls bound by a permanent partner bond.

However, even in typical DE relationships, Type E rarely shares their mental energy with their partner.

Mainly because Type D itself has strong recovery capabilities, and most of the time does not need replenishment. Moreover, Type E, as individuals whose consumption and recovery are slower than average mental energy users, not having enough mental energy can make them feel anxious and uneasy.

It's like a beast with its claws clipped, losing a big part of its defense, constantly exposing themselves to danger.

—Even if they are in a safe place where no danger will occur, their instincts will still make them feel irritable and resistant. Therefore, most of the time, Type E is the most stingy about sharing mental energy.

Even just a little bit, they will feel repelled.

Shen Tingyu ultimately overcame that mentality, unreservedly filling Xu Qingran with most of the mental energy he currently had.

Giving him enough energy to focus on dealing with the devil inside his body.

As for the two sentences Xu Qingran mentioned before falling into a deep sleep, he only acknowledged the first one.

Always ready to welcome him back.

"Fine, so you and Shen Tingyu teamed up to trick me, huh?"

After Xu Qingran's consciousness was forcibly pulled away by the devil, he returned to his own mindscape.

The devil's voice grew increasingly angry: "When did you two cook this up? I didn’t hear a thing!"

The devil was also confident because, sharing Xu Qingran's consciousness, it could sense everything happening outside. At least, that’s how it should’ve worked.

But now it dawned on the devil that Xu Qingran had been hiding many things, and it couldn’t figure out why.

Xu Qingran chuckled lightly: "Like I said, underestimating your enemy is always the biggest mistake."

"After all, you never know how terrifying a small human’s power can be when unleashed."

The devil let out a mocking laugh.

It went on: "Speaking of which, thanks to your struggle, I found something else interesting."

"Turns out, this body was also one you snatched from someone else."

The devil, battling Xu Qingran’s soul to replace him, had stumbled upon this secret while Xu Qingran was distracted.

The bond between a native soul and a body is fundamentally different from that of a soul that’s taken over a body. The native bond is deeper, making it harder to take over or eliminate. A soul that’s taken over a body, however, doesn’t have as deep a bond, making it easier to take over.

The devil’s tone dripped with glee.

Xu Qingran felt pity for its ignorance and kindly reminded it: "Let me tell you, if you’d met the original soul, you’d have been thrilled."

"After all, he’s much easier to deal with than me."

"Then we’ll just have to wait and see!"

After responding, the devil, whose consciousness had already penetrated deep into Xu Qingran’s mindscape, immediately mobilized its energy to begin eroding and devouring his soul.

Xu Qingran, of course, wouldn’t just sit idly by. With sheer willpower, he activated the lightning-based ability deep within his soul and began to counterattack.

At the same time, the mindscape, sensitive to electromagnetic energy, trembled slightly. Xu Qingran, still tethered to his body, felt sharp, stabbing pains and waves of discomfort.

The devil, not expecting a 'power source' hidden deep within his soul, snapped, shocked and furious: "Xu Qingran, is this your real plan?"

"Luring me deep into your mindscape, then counterattacking when I try to devour your soul... How did you know my intentions?!"

Could human research on devilkind have advanced this far?

No, impossible. Among all of devilkind, only I, the leader, possess such abilities. For nearly a century, I’ve hidden myself well, without a trace, from the Kayan Empire. They couldn’t have anticipated my special powers in advance!

Xu Qingran didn’t explain much, only smiling lightly: "I told you, I know everything and can do anything."

A thunderous energy, stronger than electromagnetic waves, exploded throughout the consciousness space.

The devil once again felt the sensation of its soul consciousness being scorched, like tongues of fire licking every inch of its being, each lick taking away some of its energy. Clearly, Xu Qingran intended to use his strange lightning ability to trap it in his mindscape and slowly eliminate it.

The more the devil thought about it, the more shocked it became: "Xu Qingran, you really are a madman."

"I admit you have some powerful mysterious weapon, but setting the battlefield within your own mental consciousness—did you forget that you're also a psychic who fears the power of thunder?"

"Attacking my soul consciousness directly within your own mental sea, aren't you afraid of destroying your own spiritual pool as well?" the devil asked with a sinister tone.

Normally, lightning abilities are released directly from outside the body, channeled through mental energy. This way, there is no direct contact with his spiritual pool, so even if struck by lightning outside, Xu Qingran wouldn't be afraid. However, when his own ability operates within the mental sea that inherently repels it, a slight misstep could cause damage.

To put it more seriously, severe injuries could lead to the destruction of the spiritual pool, rendering one mentally incapacitated.

Xu Qingran told it, "If I were afraid, would you still be here today?"

After speaking, he once again released his lightning ability deep within his spirit, targeting the energy attempting to erode his soul. The electric current exploded outward in a web-like pattern, preventing the devil from eroding Xu Qingran's own soul energy, instead trapping it in this contained area.

Xu Qingran's mental sea quivered uneasily again.

Especially after days of confrontation with the devil clan, even with the strong recovery ability of a D-Type, his spiritual pool was now in a state of insufficient mental energy reserves. With less mental energy to fill it, the residual impact of his abilities would be more direct, so he had to be very careful in controlling the intensity of his abilities.

The devil obviously noticed this as well.

Now that it was already trapped, it decided to fight Xu Qingran to the death, intensifying the collision of its soul and mental energy. Taking advantage of the energy not yet being weakened by Xu Qingran, it fearlessly clashed with his lightning, hoping to break through the defense line by sacrificing part of its energy, forcibly attempting to devour Xu Qingran's soul consciousness.

In the midst of the struggle, Xu Qingran was worried about the depletion of his mental energy.

Suddenly, another surge of power poured into his spiritual pool, replenishing it just as it was about to reach its limit. That familiar mental energy instantly filled his mental sea, providing a buffer for his spiritual pool against the power of his abilities, adding a layer of security to his spiritual pool.

Xu Qingran didn't need to think hard to know who had helped.

To receive so much mental energy from an E-Type, he was probably the first in history.

Xu Qingran suddenly felt great.

—Since that bastard was so generous, he had to give it his all to win this battle of wills and go out to make it up to him properly.

Xu Qingran slept for several more days.

During this time, Xie Nanjun came to Shen Tingyu's room to check on his condition. Because he was so worried and puzzled, he questioned Shen Tingyu for a long time before getting a rough explanation.

After hearing it, he was utterly dumbfounded.

He immediately complained, "No, he's crazy and you're following him? Why didn't you stop your partner!"

Shen Tingyu said, "Because I saw things from his perspective."

"If it were me today, I might have chosen the same way."

Xie Nanjun: "..."

Well, they are indeed a match made in heaven.

The battleship's journey over the past few days, as Shen Tingyu had predicted, was under constant pursuit by the devil army.

They seemed to be summoned, focusing solely on attacking their battleship. No matter which coordinates they switched to, they would soon be located and discovered, with the number of pursuers increasing each time.

A quick check of the news revealed that the devil groups originally lying in wait at the borders of other star systems within the Kai'an territory, waiting for the right moment to attack, had all been called away en masse. Even some devils that had already begun invading those star systems suddenly withdrew, all heading towards a certain place.

The suddenness of the event and the unpredictable patterns of the devil groups made it difficult for the empire to determine their exact destination.

Only Su Wenming, standing by at the Golden Wing headquarters, received a communication from Xie Nanjun midway, gaining a general understanding that they were the target of this devil army. He wanted to send reinforcements, but since the battleship couldn't stay in one place for long and was hard to track, he had no choice but to abandon the idea.

"Sigh, I really hope Xu Qingran can quietly pull off a major feat."

In the control room, Xie Nanjun leaned against the system console Shen Tingyu was operating, a piece of candy stuffed in his cheek, puffing it out.

He tapped his fingers on the console in front of Shen Tingyu and said, "We can't keep going like this."

It had been six or seven days.

The speed at which the devil army tracked their coordinates was getting faster and faster. The consumption of the battleship's leap was enormous, and after several days, the mental energy of the crew responsible for piloting the battleship was also beginning to falter.

"We must reserve the final leap energy, which is for us to return safely to the imperial star system."

Otherwise, in the vastness of space, relying solely on mental energy to sustain the battleship's journey, it would take them hundreds or even thousands of years to return from their current position.

Shen Tingyu sat in his seat without saying a word, his expression had been grim for days.

Moreover, his mental energy was also maintained at a low level. Once it recovered a bit, he would replenish Xu Qingran, always ensuring that the mental reservoir of the sleeping person was full.

Xie Nanjun was stunned by his actions and began to believe that he and Xu Qingran had indeed made a well-thought-out decision, not a spur-of-the-moment one. After all, in the past, Shen Tingyu was someone who could stay unmoved even when a teammate was about to die from mental exhaustion in front of him.

"And these past few days, the devil army has been pursuing us more aggressively. Not only have the pilots been rotated several times, but the guards have also consumed a lot of mental energy to delay the devils, ensuring the success of each leap escape," Xie Nanjun said as he looked up at the large screen in the control room.

Their battleship was preparing for another major leap.

At the same time, it was also the penultimate leap Xie Nanjun estimated they could perform. After this, to ensure the safe return of all personnel on the battleship to the empire, they had to plan according to the pilot's mental energy and the battleship's own energy reserves. They could not use it again until both their energy reserves recovered enough to support one more leap.

Compared to the speed of the devil army's pursuit, this pace was far too slow.

Xie Nanjun looked at the opened leap channel and said, "And currently, there are only a few coordinates in the empire that we can escape to. The devils are so smart, they must have caught on. If we are unlucky and leap right into the devils' path, we would be in trouble."

Hearing this, Shen Tingyu glanced up at him.

For some reason, his eyes looked murderous.

Xie Nanjun, meeting his gaze, paused and said, "No, are you really that superstitious?"

"I was just saying, it's not like it's actually going to happen, don't worry about it!"

The battleship executed the leap to the new coordinates the moment Xie Nanjun finished speaking.

Everyone instinctively looked at the scanning radar to confirm the safety of the new coordinates.

Then, they saw that every position from the inner circle to the outer circle of 360 degrees on the radar was covered with red dots marking the devil army.

Not a single gap was left.

Xie Nanjun: "...What the hell?"

Shen Tingyu: "...Hmph."

What a big jinx.

Those red dots were still for a minute.

—Probably also thinking, how did their target suddenly appear right in front of them.

Then, the red dots that tightly surrounded the entire battleship began to move quickly towards them.

Shen Tingyu shot a cold glance at Xie Nanjun beside him.

He then activated the ship-wide broadcast and commanded in a deep voice, "All hands, prepare for attack."

If there were live cameras near the coordinates at this moment, the people of the empire would witness an unprecedented event.

The ship could no longer jump, forcing Shen Tingyu and the others to carve a path through the densely packed devil horde surrounding them, accelerating forward. The devil army that had caught up to them was now chasing the ship in swarms.

Since the ship didn’t change coordinates, the devils quickly relayed the information to their allies in other star systems.

As a result, on their escape route, they kept encountering newly arriving devils. Once they shook them off, these devils joined the pursuing army, speeding up the chase and swelling the horde.

And Xu Qingran still hadn’t regained consciousness.

The chase continued for several more hours.

The guards, already worn out from days of fighting, now faced an overwhelming number of devils. After hours of battle, they were utterly exhausted. Their resistance weakened, and the fighter jets conducting guerrilla warfare outside were driven back into the ship as the devils closed in.

—And this was despite most of the devil army being intercepted by Golden Wing and Silver Dragon guards arriving from other sectors.

Shen Tingyu and Xie Nanjun had no choice but to man some of the artillery positions themselves.

Even so, the firepower of a single ship was no match for the massive and ever-growing devil horde. From a distance, the multicolored devils resembled a swarm of locusts, slowly engulfing the entire ship.

They circled the ship, gradually tightening their grip.

The scene was like a 'tornado' slowly consuming the ship. Everyone in the control room froze, staring blankly at the live feed from outside. They watched as the dense horde of devils closed in, not attacking yet but radiating an oppressive pressure.

They couldn’t even make a dent in their numbers.

"Keep pushing!" Shen Tingyu’s voice crackled sternly through the earpiece. "They won’t risk destroying the ship. Take down as many as you can, and the control room will plot a new escape route."

"If we’re out of options, we’ll jump again."

Everyone fell silent.

As Shen Tingyu had explained earlier, they were now in a race against time. With luck, they could jump to a safer zone, relay their coordinates to headquarters, and request immediate extraction.

With Shen Tingyu’s order, everyone had no choice but to obey.

The control room swiftly calculated the best escape route for Shen Tingyu.

The guards steeled themselves and prepared to attack under his command, while the control room readied the jump channel.

But then, the once-stable devil horde erupted into chaos.

Their eyes lit up with a menacing red glow.

All types of devils changed forms at this moment, entering attack mode. Their demeanor suggested that their initial hesitation was gone, and they were now prepared to fight to the death, aiming to destroy the ship outright.

With so many devils attacking simultaneously, the ship would definitely not hold!

Everyone prepared to unleash their full spiritual energy to withstand this wave of attacks.

But just as the devils, having gathered their spiritual energy, were about to unleash a full-force strike, they suddenly stopped just before colliding with the ship.

Not only did the attack stop.

Even the previously majestic circling motion came to a halt. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button, leaving the devils staring intently at the ship, motionless.

Everyone on the ship fell silent at this moment.

The sound of their hearts pounding was so clear, it felt like it was right next to their ears, as if with just a bit more stimulation, their hearts could leap out of their throats.

At the same time, in Shen Tingyu's private quarters.

On the large bed, a strikingly handsome man with brown hair, looking like a slumbering elf, slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, a powerful wave of psychic energy burst forth from his body, making the particles in the air tremble. In a daze, sparks of electricity seemed to flicker between them.

The two large dogs in the room, sensing the commotion, stood up simultaneously.

Xu Qingran lay on the bed, his eyes ablaze with the brilliance of psychic energy.

The light flickered in his eyes for a long time before gradually fading as the excess energy dissipated.

The white dog approached the bedside, sniffing his hand with its nose.

As if confirming the disappearance of an unwelcome force within him, it calmly wagged its tail a few times.

"Ahhhh! Host, are you trying to get yourself killed? I almost thought you were going to blow yourself to bits!"

The system screamed again.

Xu Qingran stared at the ceiling, his eyes curving slightly.

He murmured softly, "Welcome back, Xu Qingran."

Though regrettable, it seems this troublemaker will have to keep tangling with this wretched empire for many more years.

·

The Golden Wing's warship, after being out for many days, finally returned safely to Tianlang, landing at the military headquarters base.

A throng of media reporters had already gathered outside the base.

After all, the abrupt cancellation of the planned cleanup mission to the Lyra A3 airspace had already sparked widespread discussions. Then, most of the devils in the airspace withdrew, the disappearance of prominent figures like Shen Tingyu, and some news from the Golden Wing headquarters.

The news of the warship being in peril and besieged had already spread like wildfire among the public.

Naturally, the task of dealing with the media fell to Xie Nanjun, who was experienced in handling such situations.

As for Xu Qingran, Shen Tingyu wheeled him down in a wheelchair.

He wasn't sure if the scene was embarrassing, but by the time he exited the starship, he had already dozed off again in the chair.

It wasn't that Shen Tingyu refused to carry him.

It was just that on that day, when the devil army suddenly ceased their attack and self-destructed before them, dissipating into the vast universe and gradually freeing the warship, Xu Qingran also awoke.

But as soon as he woke up, he went out to meet Shen Tingyu, who had returned to find him, and unexpectedly spat out a mouthful of blood right in front of him.

Shocking Shen Tingyu into what could only be described as a vanishing act with blood.

Shen Tingyu stepped forward to assist him, but he recoiled and avoided the touch as if electrocuted, his forehead instantly beading with cold sweat.

With lips slightly pale, he murmured to him, "...Don't touch me, I'm in agony all over now."

"Like fragile glass, I'll shatter at the slightest touch."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

Despite his heartache, General Shen Tianyi, that jerk, rarely went against orders, but this time he grabbed Xu Qingran's wrist and applied a bit of pressure.

And Xu Qingran appeared to be genuinely in pain.

When he looked up to glare at him, his eyes were filled with tears welling up from the pain, and even the anger in them turned into a playful scolding.

That look directly pierced Shen Tingyu's heart, and he let go, unable to bear to provoke him further.

He only said, "Serves you right."

Xu Qingran had been struggling against the devil's consciousness inside him for several days.

During these days, he had been using his lightning-based abilities to weaken its energy without harming himself, gradually reducing its dominant soul consciousness power so it couldn't easily devour him.

The devil also knew this well.

After several failed attempts to break through and being trapped, it realized its power was about to be worn down to the point where it couldn't defeat his soul. So, with a desperate determination, it decided to use all its strength for a final struggle.

If it succeeded, it could replace him.

If it failed, it would become a vanquished loser.

With no other choice, Xu Qingran had to face the battle.

The release of his abilities ultimately exceeded what his spiritual reservoir could withstand. Although in the end, he defeated the devil king's consciousness, he also injured himself quite severely.

"Hmm, the spiritual reservoir has indeed been damaged."

"But fortunately, it's not life-threatening, and it doesn't seem to have affected the soul consciousness. Colonel Xu is a Type D, so at least one thing we don't need to worry about is that he can heal on his own. But for now, try not to do anything that requires the use of spiritual power, including attacks, to avoid causing more serious damage."

Shen Tingyu accompanied him step by step to the medical department inside the battleship.

The female military doctor there carefully examined him and gave her diagnosis.

"As for Colonel Xu's current sensation of being ripped apart... although the instruments didn't detect any serious damage to his internal organs, it seems that the force that injured his spiritual reservoir during his actions also flowed through his body via spiritual energy, causing some internal damage."

"Such symptoms are indeed uncommon."

"I'll prescribe some painkillers and nutrient supplements to help with recovery. A period of rest should aid his recovery, and if the pain doesn't subside after a week, go to a regular hospital for a more thorough check-up."

When the doctor said this, Xu Qingran roughly understood the reason.

In short, while using his abilities to fight the devil, he accidentally injured himself. Resting for a while should help him recover.

Given that Xu Qingran was in too much pain to walk or be touched, he cleverly spotted a wheelchair before leaving the medical department and pointed to it, telling Shen Tingyu he wanted to use it to go home.

And so, he was pushed down by Shen Tingyu.

Unaware onlookers might think Xu Qingran had gone out and crippled both his legs.

Xu Qingran was taken back to Shen Tingyu's spacious villa by him.

The house had been empty for a long time. Shen Tianyi and Auntie Song, due to the previous sudden surge of devils, had stayed at Shen Tianheng's place, waiting for the crisis warning to be cleared, as Shen Tingyu might not have had time to take care of them.

So now, only the two of them were in the house.

Shen Tingyu rested at home for two days.

During this time, he took over the cooking duties for Xu Qingran and even fed this vulnerable individual who couldn't manage on his own, fully experiencing a life where he was waited on hand and foot.

Xu Qingran's recovery speed was remarkably quick.

After two days, his body was no longer in so much pain, and he could get out of the wheelchair and walk.

By then, there were about five days left before the negotiation day.

But Shen Tingyu had already changed into his work clothes and was about to head out.

He said to him, "This operation was sudden, and everyone is confused. The Golden Wing has already issued an order, asking me to prepare a complete report for them and personally explain it to them."

Xu Qingran said regretfully, "Alright."

Then it hit him: "Then, as a representative of the Silver Dragon, do I also need to write a report to explain?"

Shen Tingyu couldn't resist the urge, ruffling his soft hair before replying, "If my report is thorough and well-written, and I also mention your situation, perhaps you won't need to?"

Xu Qingran immediately curved his eyes.

He hooked his arm around his neck, slightly tilted his head up, and kissed him, playfully thanking him ahead of time: "Thank you."

After a shallow kiss, just as he was about to pull away, he was held by the waist and pulled back by the head.

Shen Tingyu lowered his eyes and asked with a teasing laugh, "Xu Qingran, is your sincerity only this much?"

After saying that, without letting him respond, he kissed him until he was out of breath before letting go.

Soon, he regained his composure, straightened his clothes, and buttoned them up to the top, leaving with a serious demeanor.

Xu Qingran raised his hand to touch his lips, raised an eyebrow, and felt a little unsatisfied.

—That guy's kissing skills are really getting better and better.

There were still many things for Shen Tingyu to take care of at the Golden Wing.

That afternoon, he sent him a message, telling him that their next meeting would probably be directly at the negotiation table.

Xu Qingran replied with a frowning emoji.

After closing the chat, he remembered something and then opened a shopping app.

After browsing for a while, a meaningful smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He grinned like a sly fox.