Chapter 70: Visiting the Sick

Chapter 70: Visiting the Sick

Rong Mi: "..."

Rong Mi calmed the general's spirit domain and took a step back, eyeing him doubtfully. However, without being able to delve into Lu Yi's depths and see his spiritual roots, he couldn't verify it personally.

Rong Mi: "Are you sure?"

Lu Yi met Rong Mi's gaze, his tone unwavering. "No." His voice paused for a moment before he continued, "After your treatment, I feel much better."

In this matter, he wasn't lying.

Rong Mi: "..."

Lu Yi's expression appeared sincere and earnest. Unable to get anything out of him, Rong Mi could only rub the wolf's head in frustration.

... Rubbing a large wolf head was indeed more satisfying than rubbing a smaller one!

"..."

Ayin nudged Rong Mi's shoulder with his nose, urging him to return to his sickbed for rest.

Rong Mi glanced at his medical bed, then back at Ayin.

...No matter how he looked at it, the wolf's body seemed more comfortable.

Rong Mi said, "Ayin."

He looked earnestly at the silver wolf and stated solemnly, "Right now, I want to do something else more than resting."

"It's... Ayin..."

"Let me... rub against you—just for a little—"

Without waiting for the wolf's response, the young man lunged forward, pouncing onto the wolf's back. His face brushed against the wolf's neck, his legs wrapped around the wolf's waist, and his arms roamed across the wolf's sides.

Caught off guard, the wolf let out an "Aww," its tail rising before thudding heavily on the ground. It turned its head to look at Rong Mi, pushing against him as if in refusal, though not with much force.

"You've grown so big, Ayin!" Rong Mi refused to move down. "Don't be so stingy! Let me rub against you and enjoy it properly!"

Ayin howled softly and turned its head to look at Lu Yi.

Lu Yi: "..."

Lu Yi's headache intensified as he felt the sensation of the young man's palm and hair ends brushing against his skin through their empathic connection. He spoke, "Rong Mi."

"Ayin doesn't dislike your touch," he said calmly. "It's just that it's more sensitive."

Rong Mi raised his head from amidst the wolf fur. Due to the intense rubbing, a strand of silver wolf hair clung to his forehead.

"Isn't the sense of touch for large-scale Star Beasts much duller than that of humans?" Rong Mi was slightly puzzled but immediately lightened his touch. "Should I stroke it gently then?"

Lu Yi: "..."

This manner of touching was more like teasing.

Though Lu Yi didn't mind it.

Yet, he was afraid of losing control.

Rong Mi was merely stroking a wolf.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yi suddenly asked, "Have you ever petted a lion like this?"

Though Sandel was not as massive as a wolf, a large lion would undoubtedly allow Rong Mi to revel on its back.

Rong Mi: "..."

Wolf: "!!"

The wolf's ears perked up instantly, directing its wary gaze at Rong Mi.

Rong Mi hurriedly clarified, "I didn't!"

As he said this, a glimmer shone in his eyes.

It was as if he was regretting never having thought of pouncing on the lion for a hearty rub!

From now on, don't even try! Feel the difference between a lion and a wolf!

Lu Yi: "..."

Ayin: "!!"

"Ao!" Ayin growled lowly, sternly warning Rong Mi not to mess with the lion like that!

Rong Mi continued petting the wolf while looking at Lu Yi suspiciously.

"General," he accused, "Why did you suddenly provoke a rift between Ayin and me?"

That howl from the wolf made him feel a bit reluctant to do anything behind its back!

Lu Yi: "..."

Lu Yi put a hand to his forehead, barely able to suppress a chuckle.

Sander was different from Ayin.

Lions aren't spirits; they're just ordinary star beasts. There's no harm in touching them.

He had known this all along, but he couldn't explain why those words had slipped out.

Perhaps the pain from the Ice Butterfly poison was too intense, clouding his thoughts.

"No," he said. "Forget it. Touch the wolf instead."

"Touch whatever you want."

Rong Mi: "?"

Confused, he was about to ask for clarification when the hospital room door was knocked on from the outside.

Rong Mi turned to look at the entrance and saw someone cautiously pushing the door open a crack.

Investigator Chen Shu, holding the Gemstone Rabbit Damon, peered in furtively, locking eyes with Rong Mi.

Chen Shu: "..."

Chen Shu chuckled, pushing the door wide open.

"As if you're resting," he said, entering the ward while followed by a man who appeared youthful but exuded a mature demeanor.

Human aging didn't start until the age of 150, making it difficult for Rong Mi to gauge the stranger's exact age. Instinctively, though, she felt that he was significantly older than Chen Shu.

The man bore a vague resemblance to Chen Shu, like they could be siblings.

Moreover... there was a hint of familiarity.

"This is my brother," the investigator introduced, "Chen Mo."

"Sorry to bother you," Chen Shu said, slightly embarrassed. "My brother insisted on coming along..."

"He was worried that Admiral Lu Yi might not make it," Chen Mo smiled, glancing at Rong Mi, still perched on the wolf's back. "But judging from the admiral's lively spirit and enthusiasm, it seems we needn't have worried."

Rong Mi: "....?"

Confused, Rong Mi looked back and forth between Chen Mo and Lu Yi, sensing a strong familiarity with both of them.

Rong Mi rose from the wolf's back, greeting the two visitors and then waving at Damon.

"Peep!" Damon Rabbit hopped down from Chen Shu's hand, bounding over to Rong Mi, rubbing against his ankle as a form of greeting.

The wolf's gaze shifted to the rabbit, its tail swishing, but it didn't move otherwise.

After Damon Rabbit greeted Rong Mi, it curiously hopped forward, facing the Silver Wolves.

"Peep?!" Damon recognized the scent of the silver wolf but was baffled by how the once similarly-sized creature had suddenly become so enormous. It hopped closer in disbelief, circling around the wolf, trying to uncover the secret to its newfound size.

...The little rabbit was a bit envious! It also wanted to grow that big!

The Silver Wolf remained oblivious to the rabbit's envious gaze.

Lowering its head, it tapped the rabbit with its forehead as a greeting.

Having regained its original size, the wolf was now quite strong, sending the Gemstone Rabbit tumbling sideways like a white snowball. Dazed, it rolled back to Chen Shu's feet, stood up, and shook its head vigorously.

Despite being startled by the wolf's strength, the rabbit was still intrigued by Ayin's transformation. After a moment of melancholy, it hopped back to face Ayin once more.

Rong Mi simply couldn't resist petting a rabbit when he saw one.

He raised an eyebrow and employed his usual tactic: holding the wolf's paw to gently stroke the rabbit first.

Ayin: "..."

Damon: "..."

It was like history repeating itself.

The small Damon rabbit tumbled on the ground under the large wolf paw, rolling around in confusion before letting out a bewildered squeak.

Rong Mi crouched down, satisfying his craving by rubbing the bunny ball, then, under the watchful gaze of the silver wolf, he held the gemstone rabbit upright as if nothing had happened, as if he had just been helping the rabbit up.

Chen Shu found this situation commonplace, but it was a first for Chen Mo.

With his arms crossed, he watched the interaction between the wolf and Rong Mi with interest, then turned to Lu Yi.

"I guess Gu Hong's rumor wasn't wrong this time," he hinted. "An iron tree has blossomed."

Lu Yi: "..."

Lu Yi wasn't in the mood to respond to Chen Mo's jest.

Meeting Rong Mi's inquiring gaze, he decided to change the subject and introduced the young man further, "This is Chen Shu's older brother, the Chief Scientist at the Academy of Sciences' Computing Institute, the 'Mad Scientist' Chen Mo."

"Also the Director of the Spiritual Power Research Institute," Chen Mo added politely, "with close collaboration with the military."

In short, he was one of their own.

Rong Mi's thoughts drifted for a moment.

Upon hearing Chen Mo's name, his eyes widened slightly as he exclaimed, "It's you! The expert on the main ship's supercomputer!"

...No wonder he seemed familiar! He had seen him in historical records from the Interstellar Nomadic Era.

During that era, the underlying programs of all main ships' supercomputers had been improved and rewritten by Chen Mo and his team, adding numerous computational modules and practical functions related to simulating planetary ecosystems within the ships.

Rong Mi had heard people talk about how, without the efforts of Chen Mo's team, human life in the interstellar nomadic era would have likely been even more challenging and primitive.

Rong Mi: "Hello!"

"Have you heard of me?" Chen Mo was slightly taken aback.

"I've seen some introductions about you on the Star Network," Rong Mi replied vaguely.

Chen Mo gave him a thoughtful once-over.

In truth, he had never publicly disclosed his information on the Star Network. As the research on the main battleship's AI was classified, no details had been published on the Computing Institute's website.

Chen Mo recalled the message that Gu Hong had sent him.

"How is your human mental energy project for time regression coming along? You know, the one about breaking barriers?" A few days ago, Gu Hong had specifically messaged him, "Did you manage to crack that crucial formula you mentioned? You didn't actually solve it, did you?!"

Of course, he hadn't.

Chen Mo's study was piled high with scribbled papers. Confused by Gu Hong's questioning, he almost thought the other party had come to pick a fight.

But now that he had met Rong Mi in person, Chen Mo suddenly understood Gu Hong's skepticism.

Gu Hong believed that Rong Mi's background information couldn't account for his extraordinary combat prowess.

As for Gu Hong's own records... If Lu Yi hadn't disclosed them to Rong Mi, then the latter indeed shouldn't be aware of them.

Chen Mo's heart stirred slightly. He looked at Lu Yi and noticed the general shaking his head subtly.

Regardless of Rong Mi's background or origins... before the young man brought it up, Lu Yi didn't approve of actively inquiring about it.

This was his way of showing respect to Rong Mi.

Chen Mo smiled accordingly.

"I didn't come here solely to visit General Lu Yi," he thus changed the subject.

"There are two matters," he said seriously. "Firstly, the humanoid ice sculpture at Lu Yi's home has been dealt with. Xiaoshu and I arrived with the security team; your military personnel got there even faster. It seemed like they were Marshal Zhang Lingyu's personal guards."

Rong Mi took a moment to understand what "humanoid ice sculpture" referred to, then realized it must have been Lu Tianxing.

Looking at Lu Yi's calm expression, he felt a slight ache in his heart.

"Lu Tianxing insists that unless you meet with him, he will not divulge any information about the Ice Butterfly Symbiosis Association, its members, or his reasons for joining – all details the Military Department is eager to learn,"