Chapter 88: Fireworks

Chapter 88: Fireworks

"Cheng Die's spirit pendant, just retrieved from Seiko," Rong Mi said, then produced another item.

"Ai Die's corpse containment spatial button."

"The latter should have been handed over to the Academy of Sciences two weeks ago, but Lu Yi held off due to the military's ongoing investigation," Rong Mi explained as she passed the object and activated a light screen. "Lu Yi's special authorization letter."

Zhang Lingyu: "..."

She didn't even glance at the authorization letter, her eyes fixed on Cheng Die's spirit instead, her expression filled with astonishment.

"You..." she couldn't help but exclaim, "Extracted Cheng Die's spirit manually from Ai Die's body?!"

"Her spirit wasn't fully activated yet," Rong Mi added truthfully. "There was an energy seal on the pendant; otherwise, it would have sparked another battle like the one at the amusement park base."

Zhang Lingyu: "..."

Regardless, Rong Mi's abilities seemed almost absurd.

She was certain that Rong Mi's strength had grown significantly more than just a notch since the initial Ice and Fire Tournament.

His progress was astonishingly rapid, with limitless potential.

"Additionally, there might be another Butterfly Fragment at the edge of Battle Zone AE." The young man's intention was clearly not to showcase his improvement. He stuck to the matter at hand, moving on to the next point after he finished.

"To completely neutralize the special Ice Butterfly poison on Admiral, we need the mental energy of a mature butterfly," he said, passing the mental energy pendant of the mature butterfly to Zhang Lingyu before looking at Chen Mo. "This should fall under Director Chen's area of research."

Chen Mo: "…"

"Of course."

He exchanged glances with Rong Mi, sensing a subtle yet distinct pressure emanating from the young man.

It was an aura born out of extreme seriousness and focus.

Aside from a few recordings, Chen Mo had never seen Rong Mi in actual combat. The Rong Mi he had encountered before was casual and carefree, but in this moment, Chen Mo realized that the young man would undoubtedly instill terror in his enemies when engaged in battle.

Despite this, Chen Mo responded promptly, as mental energy was indeed within his field of study. In this regard, the Ice Butterfly Research Institute was less proficient than him.

He had originally attended this meeting to discuss Seiko's mental power research.

He hadn't expected to obtain something even more significant from Rong Mi.

"These are all the details provided by Lu Tianxing," Rong Mi glanced at the group and stated honestly. "He has had contact with Cecil and is even aware of Seiko's existence."

"You'd best have someone re-interview him, considering how much Lu Tianxing knows," the young man suggested, his voice pausing abruptly as he suddenly furrowed his brows.

"I was a bit too harsh on him during our conversation earlier," Rong Mi admitted, a hint of concern flickering in his eyes. "Is he still alive?"

The conference room fell silent for a moment.

When Rong Mi had attacked Lu Tianxing in the prison visitor's room, the wolf had sensed an unusual disturbance in the energy field within the military prison. With his focus on Seiko, he hadn't seen Rong Mi's actions since his back was turned to the visitor's room.

Lu Yi turned to look at Rong Mi, his brows lifting slightly.

"You attacked Lu Tianxing?"

Noticing the general's gaze, Rong Mi tilted his head slightly, studying the admiral's expression. "The general forbids it?"

"According to military regulations, visitors are prohibited from engaging in conflicts with prisoners during their visit to the military prison. Prisoners are also forbidden from attacking visitors, and vice versa," Lu Yi stated calmly.

Rong Mi folded his arms, an unusual feeling of trying to do good but not being appreciated washing over him. His brows furrowed, about to speak, when he heard Lu Yi continue, "That's why you didn't attack."

Rong Mi: "..."

Zhang Lingyu: "..."

Chen Mo: "..."

"The injury on Lu Tianxing's head was caused by the spatial energy disturbance resulting from Seiko's assault," the general said matter-of-factly.

Zhang Lingyu fell silent for a moment, wondering what kind of energy disturbance could leave such traumatic aftermath from a violent impact.

"All right," she said, not one to strictly adhere to rules. "I'll have the investigation team prepare a report, and I'll approve it."

"The spirit energy fragments Rong Mi brought this time, along with the information on Chengdie's other fragments, are crucial," she exhaled, turning to Rong Mi. "With your current strength, if you were to apply for another department within the military instead of a legion, you could be directly recruited without having to undergo the standard assessment."

However, due to the strategic importance of the war zone, first-time applicants to a legion or those seeking a legion transfer had to go through the uniform evaluation process.

Zhang Lingyu was utterly convinced that, for Rong Mi, this assessment would be rather straightforward.

The only potential challenge, perhaps, lay in the fact that it employed a team-based combat format, requiring cooperation among members instead of relying solely on individual prowess for scoring.

Still, Zhang Lingyu wasn't overly concerned. She imagined that at the assessment, there would be no shortage of people vying to join Rong Mi's team, leaving the young man with ample options.

"Back to the matter at hand," Zhang Lingyu stowed away the butterfly spirit energy fragment and the Sub-Butterfly spatial button, gently tapping the table for emphasis. "The warzone situation is escalating, and Cecil is searching for an opportunity to eliminate or abduct Rong Mi."

"Lu Yi's health has yet to fully recover, and Rong Mi hasn't officially entered the military. Neither is suitable for the grand assembly. So, I'd like to privately seek your opinions."

"Cecil can try if it wishes," Rong Mi's attitude mirrored his conversation with Lu Yi in the hospital room. "Its means will only dwindle over time."

"I'll remain vigilant of my surroundings."

Lu Yi spoke up, "There might be risks within the military assessment environment. Ayin could participate as Rong Mi's battle pet during the military evaluation."

He turned to Zhang Lingyu, "If there are any doubts, I hope the military can provide a statement ensuring fairness in the assessment and that Rong Mi hasn't resorted to any improper means to compete."

Rong Mi: "..."

Chen Mo: "..."

Zhang Lingyu: "..."

Zhang Lingyu waved her hand. "It's... fine. The military assessment permits the carrying of battle pets, and they're acquired through one's abilities. Ayin has the right to choose who to follow, and it's not against the rules."

As she spoke, a faint sense of unease began to dawn on her.

After all, it was exceptionally rare for a wolf-type star beast to acknowledge two masters.

Historical records showed that such instances typically involved a pair of spouses.

Moreover, this silver wolf was Lu Yi's spiritual entity.

The situation was so bizarre that even the Chief Commander of the military found himself momentarily distracted, stealing a few more glances at Lu Yi.

Rong Mi's attitude toward Lu Yi remained relatively normal, so what was the admiral doing now?

...A kind of open secret infatuation?

Unaware of Rong Mi's ignorance about the werewolf beasts' bonding traits, she found Lu Yi's proposal rather absurd.

"The warzone," the admiral maintained his calm demeanor, proceeding with his words, "I believe we shouldn't divert personnel to reinforce it until all of Cheng Die's spirit fragment remnants in the safe zones have been located and eradicated."

Zhang Lingyu remained silent.

Of course, the Ice Butterfly's pressure on the warzone was currently far from reaching the First Legion's threshold. However, the other legion commanders might not concur with Lu Yi's suggestion.

"I'll consider it," she eventually said.

Rong Mi shared the same viewpoint as Lu Yi.

"We also need to account for the possibility of the safe star domain's defenses unexpectedly failing, allowing Cheng Die to utilize her unique ability to open multiple long-range spatial wormholes, launching a surprise attack on the core areas," he pointed out. "That would be a catastrophe."

Zhang Lingyu glanced at Rong Mi, her expression darkening.

Had this been a few months ago, she would have immediately refuted such a notion, confident in the thorough defenses within the safe star domain, especially the capital star, with its robust defense systems. Even if the Ice Butterfly exploited wormholes, it was implausible for her to breach them.

...Yet, after a series of unexpected incidents, Zhang Lingyu had completely altered her perspective.

She had underestimated the Ice Butterfly's infiltration into the Safe Zone and the gradual erosion of the soldiers' vigilance and combat prowess due to their prolonged safety.

She also introspected, wondering if she, too, had become complacent over the years spent away from the war zones.

What Rong Mi said was not entirely implausible.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Lingyu finally nodded in agreement.

"I'll announce the decision directly at the military assembly," she stated.

"The Ice Butterfly training system used by the military also needs an upgrade," Rong Mi added.

During his pest control live stream, he sensed that while the simulation's realism was acceptable, it became increasingly insufficient for more complex battle scenarios and higher-level Ice Butterflies.

"R&D is currently working on refining the algorithms," interjected Chen Mo, who moonlighted as a scientist at the Computational Institute. "In the past, the military also raised concerns, but the team leader in charge of simulations was preoccupied with other tasks. They believed that this minor disparity wouldn't significantly affect training outcomes."

"After watching your live stream, hearing your feedback, and witnessing your audience criticize the Computational Institute in hundreds of comments, they finally realized the severity of the issue. They've held meetings with officers from various legions and have been working overtime to adjust it. You should probably notice the difference next week."

"Excellent." The young man chuckled. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Hoping that the Rabbit Legion can locate the target quickly," Rong Mi pondered before posing another question. "What will the military do with Cheng Die's spirit energy fragments?"

Zhang Lingyu replied, "The one you've entrusted to us will, of course, be used first for researching how to remove the Ice Butterfly poison from Lu Yi's body."

"It will then be sent to the confidential laboratory on the capital planet."

"There's a high-powered decomposer in the confidential lab, powered by a unique energy source. When activated, it releases energy equivalent to a full-strength attack from a 3S-level spirit energy user, capable of destroying Cheng Die's spirit energy." She smiled. "So there's no need to worry about that."

"Any other concerns?" Zhang Lingyu teased, half-jokingly and half-praising. "If you ever get tired of being a mecha pilot, you'd make an excellent commander."

As she spoke, she gestured in Lu Yi's direction.

The general's lips curled upward slightly.

"I have no issues," he said. "It's Robert who should be worried."

Lieutenant General Robert was someone he had been grooming for many years, chosen as the successor to lead the legion after his own demise.

Rong Mi still needed time to mature into a capable legion commander, but Lu Yi could foresee that the young man would become an even more dazzling figure in the future.

"So confident?" Rong Mi playfully tilted his head at Lu Yi.

None in the conference room picked up on the hidden meaning behind Lu Yi's words, nor were they aware that he had already planned for matters after his own demise.

"There is indeed another issue," the young man said. "How long would it take to thoroughly study the Ice Butterfly Poison on Lu Yi's body and completely remove it?"

He looked at Chen Mo. "Twenty days?"

Chen Mo: "…"

Everyone present knew the origin of the number twenty days. Chen Mo wore a helpless expression and shook his head.

"I'll do my best to speed things up," he admitted honestly, "but it won't be easy."

"Before coming to this meeting, I just had a discussion with doctors from the Capital Star Hospital."

"Allowing the Ice Butterfly Poison to extensively corrode within the body isn't a reasonable solution," he said, looking at Lu Yi. "We believe it would be best to confine the poison to an area distant from the mental domain."

"High concentration compression would exacerbate the effects on some parts of the body, but it lessens the risk of the Ice Butterfly poison corroding vital organs or infiltrating the mental domain."

Chen Mo and Lu Yi locked eyes.

"Would you mind wearing a leg-assist exoskeleton?" There was a brief pause in his voice before he continued, "The doctors on Capital Star recommended compressing the Ice Butterfly poison below the calf."

"Without external assistance, you'll lose the ability to walk before the poison is fully removed."

"We will... find an effective antidote as soon as possible."

*

The technology for exoskeletons had already advanced significantly.

Rong Mi had seen mecha pilots wear such devices after being injured during the interstellar nomadic era. After a short period of training and adjustment, the wearer's mobility was almost indistinguishable from walking with their own legs.

The exoskeleton was secured to the soles of the feet, calves, knees, and up to the thighs, without imposing excessive pressure on the wearer. It could be used continuously for up to twenty-four hours.

After more than twenty-four hours, the user might experience muscle pain and joint fatigue. However, since it could be completely removed during sleep, the twenty-four-hour limit was almost negligible.

Lu Yi's challenge wasn't in wearing the leg-assist exoskeleton; it was the corrosion and pain caused by the accumulation of the Ice Butterfly poison.

The current Ice Butterfly antidote was only moderately effective, but it still needed to be administered.

After concentrating the Ice Butterfly poison in his leg, the intravenous drip turned into a leg injection. The treatment involved applying a healing ointment after the injection and wrapping the limb with bandages, with the medication changed twice daily, morning and night.

Upon observing the medical robot's clumsy handling on the first day, Rong Mi found it lacking in sensitivity. He could no longer bear to witness this and decided to take over the task himself.

Lu Yi was actually not keen on the idea.

Rong Mi's daily training regimen was immense, and compared to his daytime drills, his nightly battles against the Ice Butterfly on live stream were almost like leisure activities. Lu Yi didn't wish to impose any additional burden on the young man.

Moreover... during the injection process, his appearance wasn't exactly appealing.

"Should I put on the exoskeleton, or shall I carry you?" Rong Mi finished wrapping the general's leg, stood up, and playfully asked.

These past few days, Rong Mi had seen how much Lu Yi was suffering; even his usual cold demeanor had started to crumble.

The pain from the antidote taking effect left Lu Yi's forehead slick with sweat. His face was pale as he leaned back into the sofa. Smiling at the last option offered by the young man, he found some solace amidst his discomfort.

Lu Yi: "Exoskeleton."

"Bo-ring." Rong Mi muttered, watching the Admiral roll up his pants and straighten up, fastening the exoskeleton harness securely.

"Aooh!" The Silver Wolves stood by the door, eager to step out onto the lawn.

For Rong Mi finally had the time to fulfill his promise and put on a fireworks display for Ayin.

"I've studied many fireworks shows on the Star Network," the young man said, walking alongside Lu Yi and discreetly observing the Admiral's movements, mindful that despite his former excellence as an ace mecha pilot, Lu Yi might still struggle with the new exoskeleton, affecting his balance. "I guarantee you'll be thrilled tonight!"

The fireworks would be set off in the backyard of Lu Yi's apartment.

It was also where the Silver Wolves exercised and trained.

Back when the wolf was still a pup, it could run and play freely on the lawn. But now, as a fully grown silver wolf, that space was far too small.

In recent days, Rong Mi had seen the backyard's folding space transformed into various training and activity scenes.

Mountain ranges, forests, snowfields, deserts...

The wolf training ground was also Rong Mi's personal scenic spot.

He rode on the back of a wolf, taking in these sights to his heart's content.

These were all breathtaking views he had never seen during the interstellar nomadic era.

Yet, today, Rong Mi deliberately turned off the spatial folding device, restoring the backyard to its original grassy state.

For he wished to stage a show under the genuine starry sky.

"You know, this is something very difficult and energy-consuming!" Rong Mi leaned against the wolf, chatting with Ayin. He looked up at the sky and smiled as he pointed, "I have to control the altitude, direct my mental energy, and remember all those complicated patterns... ——"

The first fireworks burst forth from the tip of his finger.

A brilliant purple explosion outlined the silhouette of a tiny cub in the sky.

"Ao! ——" Ayin straightened up, his ears perked with excitement, and his fluffy tail swept behind him vigorously.

The second firework exploded, outlining a larger, majestic Silver Wolf.

The essence of the power remained unchanged, but the fireworks' brilliance and shapes shifted continuously under the young man's control, painting a celestial display of shimmering trees and silver blossoms in the night sky.

On a distant patrol cruiser, a few officers stood in stunned silence, gazing intently in this direction.

Many nearby residents, puzzled by the spectacle, peered out from their windows.

Beneath the grand radiance of a peaceful era, the wolf nestled its head into the crook of Rong Mi's neck, their bodies intertwined closely.

Lu Yi redirected his gaze from the heavens to the figure of the man and the wolf.

In the next moment, Rong Mi turned his head to look at him.

"Have some respect for others' hard work, General," the young man said with a teasing smile in his eyes, "Look up and see for yourself."

"I've practiced this for so long, you can't possibly dislike it, can you?"