Chapter 46: Access Key (First Installment)

Chapter 46: Access Key (First Installment)

Rong Mi confirmed once again that Lu Yi was the type of owner who gave his pet too much freedom, somewhat unreliable.

Back on the deserted planet, when Ayin was in a bad mood and refused to board the main ship, Lu Yi didn't try to soothe him but simply let the wolf sulk until he felt better and caught up.

During the space station battle, because Ayin enjoyed fighting, Lu Yi allowed him to engage without hesitation.

And now, if the wolf wanted to follow someone, Lu Yi would let him do so.

Rong Mi: Difficult to assess.

Though... it was probably this very attitude of Lu Yi's that had given him an opportunity to win a place in the wolf's heart!

Rong Mi: Not necessarily a bad thing.

The aircraft landed smoothly on a landing pad beside Lu Yi's apartment. The hatch opened, and Ayin quickly swallowed his jerky before leaping out first.

Rong Mi followed, carrying a bag of breakfast and a bag of wolf supplies, scanning Lu Yi's home as they entered.

Substantial.

The admiral's apartment was located on the ground level of the capital planet's third hundredth tier. It was more like a standalone villa than an apartment, with no neighboring houses, occupying a vast stretch of land. A meticulously trimmed lawn greeted visitors at the entrance, surrounded by a sea of forest.

It was a playground for wolves.

Autumn on the capital planet brought chilly winds high above.

Yet, such weather didn't bother the wolves in the slightest.

Finally free from the starship and other vehicles, with vast expanses to run in, Ayin was exhilarated as it dashed forward.

It moved swiftly, its fur bristling, ears flapping backward from the wind, and its tail held up slightly as it ran with unbridled joy. Racing towards the apartment, it made a graceful arc, meeting Rong Mi and Lu Yi who were approaching, charging with delight.

Rong Mi laughed.

The wind tousled the strands of hair across his forehead, his youthful smile radiating pure sunshine.

The wolf resembled a silver-white cannonball. As it neared Rong Mi, it pushed off with its hind legs, leaping into the air, and crashed into Rong Mi's embrace.

"Wow!"

Rong Mi dropped her armful of shopping bags and reached out to catch it, embracing the wolf affectionately.

Lu Yi stood by, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. He casually picked up Rong Mi's shopping bags and headed towards the apartment, allowing the person and the wolf to play on the lawn.

"Lu Yi, wait!" Rong Mi called after him. "There's a toy for Wolfie in one of the bags, at the top. Could you toss it over—"

Lu Yi: "?"

Looking down, Lu Yi pulled out a silver-blue rubber ball from the top of the bag.

The kind that squeaked when squeezed.

Lu Yi: "..."

Lu Yi: "Wolves don't play with balls."

He emphasized once more.

"I saw the promotional brochure for the Wolf Clan Star Beasts in that shop," Rong Mi said. "Wolves enjoy such interactive activities too... Throw it over here, General!"

Lu Yi: "..."

With no other choice, Lu Yi tossed the ball to Rong Mi. The young man caught it and, with all his might, threw the rubber ball far away, shouting, "Ayin!"

"....Woof!"

The Silver Wolf leaped up, dashed at breakneck speed, and chased after the plastic ball.

Rong Mi's eyes sparkled with delight; his spirits were high. He turned to look at Lu Yi, giving the general a challenging gaze.

Lu Yi: "..."

The general shook his head.

Never mind, he thought. Rong Mi threw it.

Well, let him play then.

He unlocked the access and stepped into the apartment.

The butler robot behind the door lit up its green light, sliding out of its charging dock and instantly activating its work mode.

A high-end medical robot glided from the small treatment room at the end of the apartment to the entrance.

Lu Yi added Rong Mi's information permissions to the apartment's security system, then paused for a moment over the medical robot's control screen.

After a short while, Lu Yi retrieved previous records of mental domain treatments and selected a few.

"Initial Treatment Plan: Suspected fracture at the roots of the patient's mental tree. Recommending the search for a suitable therapist to assist with surgical intervention."

"Note: Requires a therapist capable of full immersion in the mental domain to access the root of the mental tree."

"Estimated Surgery Success Rate: 15%."

"Follow-up Assessment: No therapist found capable of deep calming within the mental domain."

"One-Year Follow-up: No suitable therapist located. Suspected widening of the fracture at the mental tree roots. Advised to minimize or prohibit the use of mental power."

"Two-year follow-up: The fissure at the root of the Spirit Tree continues to widen. Without intervention, it is projected to completely sever within a decade."

...

"Five-year follow-up: ..."

Lu Yi scrolled down to the selected information and calmly tapped the delete button.

Regarding the cracks in his Spirit Tree's roots, he had only confided in the therapists from the Lu family and a friend who worked at the Spiritual Power Research Institute. He had kept this a secret from everyone else, including the Military Department and Rong Mi.

It had been ten years since his injury, and time was running out.

Each time he utilized his spiritual power, Lu Yi could keenly sense the widening of the fissures in his Spirit Tree, causing his mental domain to grow increasingly fragile.

Lu Yi didn't wish for his condition to disrupt Rong Mi's life trajectory.

Lu Yi glanced out the window.

The wolf was sprinting across the lawn, leaving a trail of silver light in its wake.

Ayin was his spirit entity, but also a separate individual from him.

Even if his mental domain collapsed and he died, the wolf would still live on.

It shouldn't disappoint Rong Mi.

Handing the shopping bags to the robotic butler, Lu Yi descended the stairs.

The basement of the apartment was even larger than the ground floor.

This was Lu Yi's training room, equipped with a spatial folding system that could simulate most intra- and interstellar terrains.

Next to the training room was a corridor leading to the armory of mecha weapons.

On both sides of the corridor, mecha docks hung suspended. There were those he had trained with before, others that Lu Yi had collected, as well as single and dual-seater mechas once used by his deceased parents.

Lu Yi proceeded inward, entering the most secluded chamber and flicking on the lights.

The room was tiny, housing a deep gray safe in its confines.

Upon sensing proximity, a holographic screen emerged from the safe's facade.

"Biometric authentication successful - fingerprint and iridescence verified."

"Psychic energy waveform verification successful -"

"Blood analysis complete."

The safe's door lifted upward, revealing its contents.

A silver short blade.

Slim and razor-sharp, it was adorned with intricate, ornate patterns along its hilt, scabbard, and blade. As it was drawn from its sheath, a ghostly glint radiated from its dual edges.

Lu Yi returned the short sword to its scabbard with one hand while gently tapping on the hovering light screen panel with the other.

"Beep - Starry Bank Asset Custody System at your service - Detection of highest level security protocol alteration - Initiation of supreme authority key re-binding procedure..."

"Please note, the supreme authority key is linked to your identifiable information and asset encryption keys. Upon re-binding, you will share all assets, including but not limited to account funds and real estate, with the other party..."

"In the event of your demise, the other party will have exclusive rights to inherit all assets..."

"The Starry Bank Asset Custody System advises you to exercise caution against impulsive actions driven by infatuation..."

"Please confirm once more if you wish to proceed with the supreme authority key binding process..."

Lu Yi curved the corners of his lips. "Confirmed."

"Please input the mental energy sample of the person to be bound -"

Lu Yi walked back to the lawn in front of his apartment.

"Ow-woof!"

Ayin was charging towards the door with a rubber ball in its mouth. It abruptly hit the brakes, stopping at Lu Yi's feet.

Rong Mi sauntered behind the wolf, hands casually in his pockets.

He walked at a leisurely pace now, but he had clearly been sprinting alongside the wolf earlier; his short hair was slightly disheveled as he stepped onto the stairs.

"Lu Yi?" He noticed a hint of red on the general's fingertips. "Where did you cut yourself?"

Lu Yi replied, "I wasn't paying attention."

The general extended his hand, offering the short blade before him. "Take a look."

"...What is this?"

It appeared to be something valuable.

He took the blade and, without realizing it, softly hissed.

It was light and slightly cool to the touch.

"...Could this possibly be... that legendary silver that only a single star can produce a gram of? The kind that's incredibly sharp, so much so that one could even engage in hand-to-hand combat with an ice butterfly while wielding it." Rong Mi gently jolted the weapon in his hand. "I've heard that this silver has energy-absorbing properties. It can, to some extent, dissipate an enemy's mental attacks based on the strength of the wielder's spiritual power..."

Lu Yi was somewhat surprised that Rong Mi recognized such a material.

He fell silent for a moment before nodding calmly and acknowledging, "Yes."

Rong Mi: "… You even have this amazing thing!"

His expression was one of envy, with an air of disbelief in his eyes as he drew the sword from its sheath.

Who wouldn't be fascinated by such an exquisitely crafted and lethally efficient weapon?

"… So beautiful," he murmured. "This silver color…"

Pure and enigmatic.

It seemed to glisten like flowing liquid under the light, holding secrets beyond human comprehension.

Lu Yi suggested, "Try infusing your spiritual energy into it."

Rong Mi promptly followed the instruction.

A deep violet spirit energy flowed into the blade.

In an instant, the intricate engravings on the blade lit up in sequence, emitting a dreamy purple luster.

Rong Mi reaches out to caress the sword's blade.

A dazzling array of colors stained the fingertips of the young man, a sight more magnificent than Lu Yi had imagined.

And on Lu Yi's wrist, the communicator gave a subtle vibration, indicating the successful re-binding of the encryption key.

The admiral then smiled, an enigmatic glint hidden deep in his eyes.

It was as if he was appreciating something, yet there was also an indiscernible infatuation intertwined.

"I'll give it to you," he said. "As a reward for buying toys and supplies for Ayin."

Rong Mi: "..."

Rong Mi: "............"

Rong Mi froze for a moment, then fell silent for a while before sheathing the short blade.

"Why give me such a precious item?" He passed the blade back to Lu Yi. "Are you some kind of philanthropist?"

"I don't need it," Lu Yi replied flatly. "I lack the control over my mental power and physique."

Such a sword required precision, aiming for vital points with a single deadly strike.

With his current mental domain state and physical condition, he was unable to achieve that.

Rong Mi's breath hitched slightly.

Suddenly, he recalled what the space station's butterfly, Yadi, had said.

"Your control over your mental power has decreased," the butterfly had told Lu Yi at that time. "You can only use more energy-consuming area attacks now."

"Fighting forcefully in this state will only lead to a quicker death."

Rong Mi hung the short sword at his waist.

"Sure," he smiled casually, "I'll hold it for you."

In Rong Mi's perspective, delving into the deepest part of Lu Yi's mental domain and tackling those intricate issues merely required time.

As his mental strength intensified... and as their rapport with Lu Yi deepened.

That day would eventually come.

Just like how Lu Yi's upper mental domain had become increasingly stable, Rong Mi had also started to unravel the vortex in the lower levels of the Admiral's mental domain.

Things would always get better.

With a light heart, Rong Mi began to savor the joy of settling on a human planet.

The capital planet was abundant in resources, with an absurd variety of dishes served in its restaurants.

Only then did Rong Mi realize that the breakfast menu from the morning stall was rather simple by comparison.

Hence, nutrient fluids and energy bars were temporarily set aside. Rong Mi added an extra physical training session in the afternoon to burn off the excess calories consumed during lunch.

After an afternoon of training, he quickly showered and set out in his hovercraft as the sun began to set, heading for the Autumn Garden Concert of the Deep Space Echo.

Before he left, Wolf was accompanying Lu Yi in his rest.

The general's low fever would rise in the afternoons, and by evening, his energy would be at its lowest. He would usually take a nap.

Rong Mi made sure Ayin was by Lu Yi's bedside before quietly leaving and ascending into the sky with the hovercraft.

Somewhere along the way, something must have gone amiss. A few minutes into the flight, a furry silver wolf emerged from under the driver's seat.

Ayin, sensing that Rong Mi didn't want him along, had stealthily utilized his innate hiding skills, sneaking onboard unnoticed.

The wolf leaped onto Rong Mi's lap, his ice-blue eyes, identical to Lu Yi's, scanning the young man as if to accuse him of attempting to abandon him.

Rong Mi: "…"

"Hey, Rong Mi?" Chen Shu asked doubtfully through the communicator, "Are you still there? Where are you?"

"I'm already at the concert venue! I arrived early and secured a front-row seat. The crowd is starting to grow, so hurry up!"