Chapter 71: Visiting the Sick (Part Two)

Chapter 71: Visiting the Sick (Part Two)

Lu Yi lifted his gaze.

The expression on the general's face was tepid.

"Sure."

"If he doesn't want to, then let it be."

Lu Yi and Rong Mi's voices sounded in unison.

The young man glanced at Lu Yi and frowned deeply.

"Are all the military interrogators slacking off? He can just refuse to speak if he wants?" Rong Mi said coldly. "There were quite a few people captured in the amusement park base, right? There must be some who can provide information about the Ice Butterfly Symbiosis Association. Plus, we have Ellen's data. We have plenty of time to wear down Lu Tianxing."

The youth's obvious defense of Lu Yi in his tone made Chen Mo raise an eyebrow.

He needed to tell Gu Hong that the iron tree blooming might not be for nothing after all.

He shrugged.

"I guess Lu Tianxing didn't expect you to take over the amusement park base," Chen Mo said. "In their understanding, Lu Yi's injuries were severe, and there were no signs of Rong Mi's second awakening. The military wasn't something to be afraid of."

"Or… they might not have even considered that you would really discover the base's location. Nor did they imagine that Chengdie's mental energy fragments would be destroyed."

Rong Mi: "The benefits of information disparity."

Yu Tiantian believed that her mental energy level was lower than his, so despite knowing she was a healer, she hadn't guarded against leaving mental threads in his mental domain.

As for Lu Yi's mental domain… after multiple treatments, the general's mental energy level had stabilized at the 2S level.

It would take time to return to the initial 3S level… and it required her to enter the depths of Lu Yi's mental domain for deep soothing, as well as to examine the general's mental tree to see what was wrong!

"Although Lu Tianxing hasn't said anything, the military has already started investigating through his connections," Chen Mo said. "With the information provided by those from the amusement park base, quite a few moths can be flushed out."

"After this battle, there's no point hiding the fact that Lu Yi's mental domain has recovered," he glanced at Rong Mi. "I suggest revealing your healing abilities along with General Lu Yi's status as a healer."

"Since so much attention has already been drawn… we might as well go all out."

"It's been a long time since humanity's stellar domain has seen such an exhilarating event."

"Of course, no problem at all," Rong Mi said nonchalantly about the matter.

His reputation didn't affect his future plans much, but it could attract more viewers to his Icy Butterfly Teaching Livestream and further expand the "Pest Control Association."

Chen Mo: "The second matter."

Looking at Rong Mi, Chen Mo continued, "It's about you."

"Lu Yi messaged me that you've shown your first complete signs of your second awakening," he said. "I was asked to reevaluate your mental power."

"At first, the admiral called me when you arrived at the capital star two days ago, but I had too many things on my hands then and couldn't make it. Now that you've shown signs of awakening, we can check it out together."

"It would be best to do the assessment right now. The mental power readings after a battle will differ from usual, and both sets of data would be highly valuable for reference."

"This medical warship is heading to the First Hospital in the capital star. My laboratory isn't far from there either. After the test, you can return to Lu Yi's ward just as well."

Rong Mi: "..."

What's the point of staying with Lu Yi? The words sounded a bit odd.

... Though he was genuinely concerned about Lu Yi's condition.

"I'm fine," the Admiral assured. "Ayin can accompany you."

"Come back and rest after the checkup."

Rong Mi hadn't slept all night.

Before Lu Yi could say anything, the Silver Wolf standing by Rong Mi's side had already risen.

The young man patted the wolf's snout, accustomed to treating it as his battle companion.

He stroked Ayin's fur and looked at Lu Yi.

"There's no issue with me. You should get some proper rest first."

Lu Yi nodded, but Rong Mi didn't leave with Chen Mo immediately. Instead, he continued watching Lu Yi closely.

He still felt that there was something he needed to say about Lu Tianxing.

It seemed that no one would comfort Lu Yi for this matter.

Even when the Admiral found out that Lu Tianxing had tampered with his medicine... his reaction didn't seem particularly strong.

But it was impossible for Lu Yi not to be pained. After all, his trust in Lu Tianxing had once been unwavering.

Rong Mi vaguely recalled Ellen mentioning that Lu Yi's recent mental domain disorder was also due to betrayal from his own side during a battle in the warzone.

When Zhang Lingyu and Lu Yi agreed to use the Admiral's health condition as a "bait," Rong Mi hadn't delved into the details.

But now, it appeared... this wasn't exactly a good idea for Lu Yi.

The fish hooked through such means must be someone whom both the military and Lu Yi, after countless screenings, couldn't identify as a traitor.

... Someone Lu Yi trusted.

A member of Lu Yi's family.

Rong Mi pressed his lips together.

Though he was an orphan, he had many friends aboard the Divine Maiden Mainship. Friends who were "Artificial Healers" from the same batch as him and a roommate who was an ace pilot with whom he had spent a considerable amount of time.

His bonds with them ran deep, almost akin to family ties. It was difficult for him to fathom... how much pain and fury he would feel if he were suddenly betrayed by his roommate during a mission.

If such a thing were to happen, Rong Mi wouldn't seek comfort from others.

But if there were someone who could truly console him...

"General," the young man still couldn't come up with any comforting words, so he decided to change his approach.

Rong Mi smiled and assuredly replied, "I won't leave your side."

Lu Yi was looking right at him.

When the General gazed at Rong Mi, he was always utterly focused. His icy blue eyes, usually devoid of much emotion, seemed to concentrate all his senses on the young man.

Lu Yi's expression shifted slightly, and he remained silent for a moment, his fingers resting by his side tensing subtly.

He wouldn't leave.

Lu Yi's lips curved slightly. [Text by Forest of Evening]

The young man's gaze was open and sincere.

Lu Yi knew that this was a genuine concern, unrelated to romantic affection.

He didn't feel deserving of it.

"Alright," the admiral finally said softly.

The Silver Wolf let out a low howl.

It drew even closer to Rong Mi, nudging its wolf head against his neck, pressing its entire body against him. It was fluffy and warm, with a slight ticklish sensation.

The wolf was now quite large, and as it lowered its head to nuzzle, its ears brushed past Rong Mi's chin.

The wolf's ears were soft and elastic, with a particularly high temperature at the base. Its fur was also much softer than the coat on its back.

Rong Mi's eyes gleamed with delight from the affectionate gesture.

There was no way he would let the fluffy creature leave just like that. He promptly reached out to pinch the wolf's earlobe.

As soon as he touched it, Ayin's ear twitched softly and turned aside, appearing rather amusing.

"I won't leave Ayin either," Rong Mi assumed that the wolf had rubbed against him to request equal attention. Thus, he continued stroking the wolf's ear while giving his assurance.

The silver wolf kept its head lowered, occasionally turning it slightly, but never moved from its spot, allowing Rong Mi to massage and pinch as he pleased.

Standing by the side, Chen Shu, aware that the wolf was Lu Yi's combat pet, was unaware of its empathic connection with the General. The scout, who had long known about Rong Mi's close relationship with Lu Yi, didn't find anything out of the ordinary apart from feeling a slight itch to intervene. However, Chen Mo was utterly stunned.

He looked from the silver wolf to Lu Yi and back again.

The General met Chen Mo's gaze and lifted his hand, index finger raised.

It was a silent request for Chen Mo to keep quiet, to not reveal the secret of their empathic bond to the young man.

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo: "............"

The expression on Chen Mo's face was as if he had just seen a ghost.

He had always thought that although Lu Yi was a bit cold... he was at least an upright and decent man!

...How...

A secret crush was one thing!

...But how could he so calmly accept being fondled by his secret crush without showing any reaction?

Although Lu Yi usually didn't have a high level of empathy with wolves, wouldn't... a gentle touch... be even more...

seductive.

Chen Mo: "..."

Lu Yi: "..."

As close friends for years, Lu Yi could read Chen Mo's thoughts from the reproach in his eyes.

"He adores Silver Wolves, and Ayin feels the same," he explained softly. "I don't want their interactions to be a burden."

One day, Ayin wouldn't be influenced by him and would become a truly independent Arctic Silver Wolf.

Of course, apart from that, there was no denying that he also had... a wicked desire to feel Rong Mi's affection.

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo and Gu Hong were among the few who knew the true state of Lu Yi's mental domain.

Recalling Lu Yi's mental tree, he shook his head.

Chen Mo's mental strength was also at the S rank, but he couldn't enter Lu Yi's mental domain at all. Since Lu Yi didn't mention the condition of his broken mental tree, Chen Mo had no way of knowing how severe his injuries were.

But he knew that the damage to the mental tree worsened with increased use of mental power. Given how frequently Lu Yi utilized his mental abilities, things likely weren't looking good.

"Don't despair too soon," Chen Mo advised, remaining calm despite his suspicions.

He activated the communication screen and typed to Lu Yi straightforwardly, "A severed spirit root isn't completely irreversible. It just requires someone with a compatibility rate of over 95% to transplant a portion of their spirit branches to aid in the repair, with a therapist present during surgery to stabilize your spirit domain."

"Although the risk is high... but if Rong Mi can successfully awaken for the second time, his spiritual power will surpass 2S and advance to 3S level. We can certainly find a therapist for the surgery."

"Didn't you tell him about this?"

Lu Yi: "I don't want him to feel pressured during his advancement."

Neither time pressure nor the pressure to succeed.

Chen Mo: "..."

"You're always so concerned about others' pressure," he couldn't help but tease, "but you seem to think highly of yourself too."

Despite his words, Chen Mo secretly agreed with Lu Yi's assessment.

As for whether Rong Mi had feelings for Lu Yi in that sense... he couldn't guarantee it.

But the young man definitely cared about Lu Yi deeply.

"Well, then you'd better wait," Chen Mo typed swiftly. "Just see how Rong Mi deals with you when he finds out."

In Chen Mo's opinion, considering Rong Mi's temperament, the admiral wouldn't have it easy.

The two communicated silently, leaving Chen Shu standing by, utterly confused.

Chen Shu: "?"

He glanced at his older brother, then at Admiral Lu Yi, and finally back at Rong Mi.

...So what was going on here?

Why was Rong Mi petting the wolf, while his brother and Admiral Lu seemed to share some secretive little secret?

Chen Shu struggled with his thoughts.

Normally, he wasn't that close with his brother, and it wasn't his business to intervene in his affairs. But...

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Shu pulled up his screen.

"Brother!" He carefully worded a message to Chen Mo, seeking clarification, "You and Admiral Lu Yi, you two really do maintain a pure friendship, right?"

He... secretly shipped Rong Mi with Lu Yi!

The latest source of his shipper's delight was Damon, the rabbit who had stayed at Lu Yi's place for a few days.

The bunny had witnessed Rong Mi going upstairs to enter Lu Yi's bedroom, which doubled as a treatment room.

...Although it didn't witness anything that wouldn't pass censorship, it was still an intimate space that only very close individuals could enter!

Not to mention... when Rong Mi stood alongside Admiral Lu Yi, they looked so compatible!

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo had long lost track of what was going on in his younger brother's mind.

Now it seemed that the "generation gap" between him and Chen Shu was wider than he had imagined!

"Yes!" He replied grumpily, typing out a lengthy lecture to dissuade his brother from randomly imagining strange relationships.

Thus, when Rong Mi finished petting the wolves and lifted his head, he found everyone in the room, except himself, had communication screens suddenly appear before them.

Rong Mi: "…?"

The young man scanned the area doubtfully.

"Cough." Chen Mo was the first to regain composure, coughing softly as he calmly closed his screen. "The research institute had some urgent work for me just now…"

"Let's go now," he said. "We'll do the mental domain assessment. I came in my own personal aircraft, it's faster than the medical starship."

"I'll stay here at the hospital a bit longer," Chen Shu raised his hand. "Damon mentioned he wants to play with the big lion downstairs…"

As he spoke, he glanced at Rong Mi, eagerly asking, "Do you know what kind of big lion? How big is it?!"

Rong Mi: "…"

Damon Rabbit and Sandel were quite close!

"It's downstairs, the first team's Captain Ellen's battle pet," he said, following Chen Mo's footsteps. "Not as big as the wolves."

Ayin promptly straightened her posture, following closely behind Rong Mi.

The young man took two steps forward but then remembered something, stopping to turn back and warn Lu Yi, "While I'm away, get some rest! Don't cause any trouble."

Lu Yi replied, "…Alright."

As they left the room, they bumped into a new patient being escorted by a medical robot into the chamber.

This medical starship had been treating patients along its route. The security team was currently scouring the entertainment district's alleys in high-speed vehicles, searching for ordinary citizens affected by Cheng Die's mental energy waves and transporting them onto the medical ship.

"It really scared me to death tonight!" The incoming patient, uninjured but exposed to Cheng Die's low-level ice butterflies, had been instructed to come to the ward for observation until test results confirmed that no ice butterfly toxins remained in their body.

"You have no idea how brave your mom was tonight!" The patient, with a neat short haircut and the attire of an average night shift worker, carried a mecha space button in her hand while speaking to the young man beside her. "I heard the alarm and rushed home to find you. Public transportation was suspended! I had to run all the way. Then, just as I was almost at our doorstep, I turned the corner... Whoa! That huge blue-red butterfly! Exactly like the one in our 'Bug Extermination Association' training simulator!"

"Mom, you're amazing!" Marco was still shaken by the description, his nerves on edge. "Did you use what Rong Mi taught?!'

...His mother had only joined the Bug Extermination Association a few days ago... And she's already mastered it? He recalled practicing with his mother over the weekend, both of them still struggling to grasp the techniques.

Later, he had logged off early to catch up on homework... and hadn't kept track of his mother's progress since.

...And that's it?

"I wouldn't say I'm that skilled. It was mainly because the Ice Butterfly disappeared at the right time! I don't have any predictive abilities; I just reacted to the most likely scenario! The key is that the low-level Ice Butterfly actually played along!"

"Wow!" Marco cheered enthusiastically. "Mom, um... Sister Anna, you're a genius! I can't even get into my mech within the required time..."

As he spoke, he noticed someone watching him and turned his head.

His eyes met Rong Mi's.

Marco: "...!!"

Rong Mi smiled at him. Seeing the astonishment on the high schooler's face, she couldn't resist teasing him with a mock fist pump gesture.

"You'll have to work hard then!" Rong Mi said with a smile, turning to Marco's still-confused mother and giving her a thumbs up. "You have a real talent... Amazing!"

Marco: "..."

Anna, Marco's mother: "...!"

"Woah, who's that handsome guy?" She nodded vaguely at Rong Mi in greeting, watching as the trio walked away. "Did he just compliment me on my talent? Could he be one of Rong Mi's live stream viewers?"

Marco: "..."

"Mom," he said earnestly, "Don't you think he looks incredibly similar to Rong Mi? Didn't you watch Rong Mi's interview after the Ice and Fire Tournament?"

In Rong Mi's first two live streams, when his popularity soared, he started using the mech's perspective instead of showing his face. But Marco was certain that Rong Mi looked even more attractive in person than on camera!

However, his mother, who started watching the live streams later, didn't recognize Rong Mi!

Wait... live stream.

Speaking of live streaming, Marco's thoughts suddenly froze as he realized something.

The distant battle's blinding light had intensified, and the energy waves radiating from the amusement park had disrupted the live stream signal. His mother hadn't returned home yet, and he was growing anxious, fearing that any changes in the battle might affect his apartment's vicinity.

No longer concerned about the live stream, he hastily rushed downstairs to search for his mother. He didn't dare venture too far from the apartment, following a small path outside. Halfway along, the terrifying glow from the battle abruptly vanished.

Moments later, he encountered his mother, piloting her scratched-up mech, around the corner.

They soon ran into a patrol of guards, who promptly escorted them onto a medical warship.

Marco: ...About that.

...So my live stream...

...Did they shut it down?!!