Chapter 56 Falling Off the Horse

Chapter 56: Exposure

Half a month after the coronation, Lin You was swamped with work, barely having time to rest.

The chaos left by the eldest prince needed to be cleaned up, and the funeral arrangements of the Old Insect Emperor had to be dealt with. With all these delays, Lin You hadn't played the game for a long time.

His Consort, Lanen, was equally busy. Lanen had returned to the Third Army, and given his achievements, he was expected to be promoted to the rank of Admiral in the next promotion cycle, jointly overseeing the military command with Admiral Hoyle.

Thus, the newly crowned Emperor and his Consort spent little time together, only managing to see each other for a short while before bed each night.

But now, even that little time was diminishing.

Lin You noticed that every time he came out of the shower, Lanen showed no intention of inviting him to share an intimate moment. Instead, Lanen sat by the bed, gazing intently at his tablet, occasionally scribbling on a draft, seemingly deep in thought.

The screen of the tablet flashed, showing what appeared to be a video. Based on the colors, Lin You could tell that Lanen was watching the same bizarre video every night.

—This weird video seemed to be more enticing than his own husband.

Lin You, displeased, leaned into him from behind and began undoing the general's uniform: "It's late at night, why aren't you sleeping? What are you working on?"

Lanen then put down the tablet and leaned in for a kiss. Since they had become close, Lanen had become particularly susceptible to arousal. He had never been injected with any addictive substances, yet he seemed drawn to Lin You's pheromones, nuzzling against Lin You as if he were a cat. Soon, his eyes were shimmering with tears.

They collapsed onto the bed, and Lin You had already undone the last button, about to run his fingers along the seam, when he suddenly noticed the tablet screen.

"..."

He stared blankly at the screen, instantly entering a trance.

"What's wrong?" Lanen immediately noticed the change in Lin You and propped himself up. His pale skin was still marked with kisses, and his collarbone was speckled with marks. "Did something happen?"

Lin You's face was expressionless.

Lanen hesitated for a moment, then reached out to gather his clothes: "Are you not in the mood?"

This was not a good sign.

He pondered whether their recent activities had become too monotonous and considered trying something new, but then he noticed Lin You was staring at something.

Lanen followed his gaze and landed on the tablet screen.

It was a video recording of a space voyage, where the journey was exceptionally perilous. Meteor streams grazed the edges of the spacecraft, nearly hitting the hull several times; large bursts of artillery fire chased after them, exploding behind, the high-energy rays from the explosions severely interfering with the instrument panel's readings. In such situations, even the most seasoned pilots in the military would be sweating bullets.

But the pilot in the video was clearly a master, maneuvering the ship left and right, teetering on the edge of destruction several times, only to pull it back at the last moment, narrowly escaping the meteor matrix.

Lin You: "..."

Lanen picked up the tablet: "Well, this is the recording from my return flight from Sector 23."

Seeing Lin You's pale face, Lanen thought it was because Lin You, having grown up in the capital, had never seen such a chaotic scene of flying debris and was scared. He quickly closed the tablet: "Don't worry, Young Majesty, it's not as dangerous as it looks."

Lanen deliberately changed the subject and picked up something interesting to talk about: "Speaking of returning from Sector 23, I encountered something strange."

Lin You mechanically asked: "What was it?"

Lanen: "Actually, on the way back from Sector 23, I was already unconscious and prepared for a crash. But the spacecraft seemed to have a mind of its own. The maneuvers you just saw were performed by the spacecraft itself."

Lin You replied in a monotone: "...Hahaha, really?"

Lanen: "Yes, it's hard to explain. Such maneuvers are definitely beyond the capabilities of any autopilot system, yet there were no signs of intrusion on my spacecraft. It was as if a ghost had taken over the cockpit."

Lin You: "..."

Of course, there would be no traces of intrusion. 66 is the most advanced system in the higher-dimensional world, and the moment the aircraft landed smoothly, it erased all traces.

As he spoke, Lanen looked thoughtful: "But the driving style of this 'pilot' seems familiar, as if I've seen it before."

Lin You, startled and uncertain, asked, "Driving style?"

Lanen sat up straight: "Yes, every pilot has a unique style, just like every painter has a distinctive brushstroke. Some pilots prefer to dodge to the left when facing meteors, while others tend to move right after a lateral shift. This pilot's style is similar to mine, but with subtle differences. It feels familiar; his operations are not very seasoned, a bit inexperienced, but... um!"

Lin You couldn't bear it any longer and kissed him outright.

Yuzu Jun had learned from Lanen, and due to the rush, he didn't master everything, so most of his operations were self-taught, hence the slight greenness.

If Lanen continued to analyze, he’d uncover all his secrets!

Lin You pushed the general down onto the bed, and with countless kisses falling, Lanen had no time to think about any aircraft or phantom cockpits. His eyes lost focus, and finally, exhausted, he gave in and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Lin You lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how to handle his gaming pod.

When he moved from the Third Prince's residence to the palace, this item was also recorded and stored in the warehouse. If Lanen ever took inventory, he would immediately notice something amiss.

The gaming pod wasn't cheap, and it would be a pity to lose it. After thinking it over, Lin You decided to return it to Admiral Hoyle.

He specifically chose a day when Lanen was working at military headquarters to instruct the servants to move the gaming pod. But as his fingers touched the silver metal hatch, he still felt reluctant.

No more gaming T_T.

As a hardcore gamer, this was an unbearable pain.

66 encouraged him: "It's okay, my encryption system is very reliable, hard to crack."

Lin You checked the time; there was still plenty of time before Lanen got off work. So he halted the servant, coughed, and said, "Just one more game!"

One more game!

Lin You lay down in the pod.

He skillfully selected his character, entered the lobby, and the avatar of Yuzu Jun appeared. That’s when he noticed he had received hundreds of private messages.

It had been almost half a year since Yuzu Jun had last logged in.

The training pods belong to the military, and those who log in are officers from various military districts or students from military academies. If someone hasn’t logged in for a long time, there are only two possibilities: either they are on a secret mission and have been away from the main planet for a long time; or they have died.

Half a year ago, he was a rising star in the training system, the subject of much attention, but then he disappeared like a meteor, causing sighs of regret.

Lanen had also sent him a private message.

Judging by the time, it was about one or two weeks after Lanen woke up. The general had made an appointment with Yuzu Jun, saying he would teach him to fly. Later, the general slept for five months, so of course, the appointment couldn't be fulfilled.

In the private message, Lanen apologized for missing the appointment and offered to make up for the lesson, asking when Yuzu Jun would be free to go online.

Lin You closed the message with guilt.

...Probably would never go online again, and even if he did, Lin You would have to change his identity.

He entered the matching interface and selected multiplayer mode. It was working hours, so there weren’t many people matching, and he needed to wait for some time. Lin You sat quietly, waiting for the game to start.

While waiting, he scrolled back and forth, admiring the model characters.

66 circled the avatar, marveling: "He really looks eighty percent like your spouse."

The same tall build, the same handsome features, the same silver hair, even the same pristine white uniform.

Lin You: "Handsome, right? I spent almost a month creating him."

This avatar was Lin You's pride and joy. He admired it happily for a while when 66 suddenly said: "Host, sorry to interrupt your admiration, but there's something."

Lin You continued to admire: "Go ahead."

66: "Your spouse is online."

Lin You: "!"

He hurriedly switched back to the matchmaking lobby, and sure enough, a figure appeared not far away—pristine white uniform, silver hair, Iris medal, standing tall like a pine—it was Lanen.

The lobby instantly buzzed with activity.

Lanen was now a rising star in the military. Everyone had been waiting for matches, but as soon as he came online, discussions immediately started, and chat messages scrolled rapidly in the bottom right corner of the screen.

"Wow, what day is it today?"

"Was this planned? How come two people who haven't been online for six or seven months are both here?"

Lanen obviously saw this message too.

Iris: "Who else is here?"

Lin You: "..."

He was about to click to go offline, but the message had already been sent.

"Yuzu is here too!"

"Major, how about a match between you two? I've rewatched your previous match videos so many times they're worn out."

Lin You: "..."

He was about to act like he didn't see it when a private message refreshed in his inbox.

Iris: "Are you there?"

Lin You hesitantly: "Yes."

He whispered to the system: "66! 66!"

Yuzu's avatar still had that wedding dress uniform template.

66: "Coming, coming."

It quickly tweaked the code, swapping the avatar's outfit for the default one.

Lin You finally walked to the center of the matchmaking lobby.

Lanen's gaze fell on him. He nodded politely, then his eyebrows twitched and furrowed briefly before smoothing out, his gaze lingering on Lin You as if nothing had happened.

Lin You stammered: "Major, Major?"

Lanen studied Lin You, a smile forming on his face: "Hello, Yuzu."

He extended his hand to Lin You: "Do I have the honor to challenge you to a duel?"

Lin You was silent for a moment.

Although he knew this was the usual tone of the nobility, he still felt really awkward and just nodded hastily: "Let's start."

They matched into a ruins instance.

Lin You remembered this instance; he had been headshot by Lanen here once, earning the 'impressive feat' of surviving for ten minutes.

His competitive streak was starting to kick in.

After several months of training, Lin You was no longer the same. He skillfully navigated his character through the broken walls and ruins, moving as gracefully as a swallow, using various covers to shoot through gaps with astonishing accuracy.

Lanen was momentarily stunned when Lin You darted out, nearly getting hit by a surprise shot, but quickly found his rhythm. The vast instance felt like their personal hunting ground, with Iris and Yoko Jun as the only predators left on the field.

At the start, Lin You deliberately chose the opposite direction from Lanen.

Lanen initially chased relentlessly, seemingly wanting to catch up and walk side by side with Lin You, which scared Lin You into running for his life, his character leaving afterimages. But at some point, the marker representing Lanen stopped, paused for a moment, and then headed in the opposite direction.

He moved very slowly, more like walking with his head down—walking with a heavy heart and heavy steps.

Lin You stared at the marker and actually sensed a hint of despair.

As the battle heated up, the distance between them quickly widened, with each dominating different areas.

Announcements kept ringing in their ears.

"'Iris' killed 'Heartbroken'"

"'Yoko Jun' killed 'Sunset Glow'"

"'Iris' killed 'Tomato Scrambled Eggs'"

"'Yoko Jun' killed 'Tail Break Survival'"

"..."

Lin You was not at all surprised by Lanen's achievements, but Lanen himself had zoned out countless times during the match.

Every time "Yoko Jun" got a kill, he would be stunned for two seconds.

The countdown of remaining players in the top right corner kept decreasing, until finally, only three were left.

They crossed paths in a dilapidated church.

Lanen was behind the church statue, Lin You was by the hymn's organ, and the last player was in the pew.

The three of them formed a triangular standoff.

Each could only focus on one direction at a time; once firing in one direction, it was hard to guard against shots from the other.

Lin You and Lanen both raised their guns, staring each other down.

The third player was just a random no-name; 'Iris' and 'Yoko Jun' posed the greatest threat to each other. By standard logic, they would first settle their own score, then take care of the last one.

Lin You's palms were slightly sweaty.

This might very well be his last time entering the matchmaking queue, and his final chance to defeat Lanen.

The other person had completely given up resistance, sat in the audience seats, watching the scene unfold like a spectator, quietly waiting for the two leaders to settle the outcome.

But Lanen moved his gun away.

With no expression, he aimed the gun at the audience and pulled the trigger.

Passerby: "?"

He was abruptly logged out.

At the same time, the gunshot rang out, and Lin You seized this brief moment; the bullet hit Lanen.

The announcement sounded: "'A Pomelo Lord' killed 'Iris'."

"'A Pomelo Lord' achieved the final victory."

Lin You, still puzzled, was teleported back to the lobby.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Lanen had gone easy on him, but had no evidence. Before he could recover, a message from the Major General arrived.

Iris, controlling the avatar, politely said: "Perhaps I have the honor to invite you for another round?"

"No, no, no," Lin You quickly refused, "I have laundry to take care of at home, I'm logging off."

He logged off in a flash.

Lin You emerged from the training pod, instructed the attendants to quickly remove it, then lay back on the bed, muttering guiltily, "He didn't notice, right?"

66: "Probably not, we did a good job covering it up."

Over the next few days, Lin You kept a close eye on Lanen.

The Major General acted as usual, still going in and out of the military department every day, still sharing morning and evening kisses with Lin You, seemingly noticing nothing.

Lin You sighed in relief.

—Until his birthday.

Lin You shared a birthday with the original third prince. In his previous life, his birthdays were low-key, usually kicking off with a birthday live stream, having a few bites of cake, and that was it. But now, as the emperor of the empire, his birthday was one of the most important holidays of the empire.

Lin You put on the cumbersome ceremonial attire, took the stage to give a speech, rambled on about this and that, and after going through the formalities, he went home to browse through the gift catalog.

On the emperor's birthday, many nobles would offer gifts, mostly rare jewelry and ornaments. Lin You quickly skimmed through them, then his gaze fell on Lanen's gift.

He was puzzled: "What's this Frost k754 thing?"

Lanen: "I placed it in the bedroom, you can go take a look."

Lin You followed the instruction and returned to the bedroom, immediately spotting the large object in the middle, with its streamlined pod body, all silver paint, exuding a cold gleam.

It was the most advanced training pod from the military department.

Lin You panicked briefly, then his eyes darted around: "When... did you find out?"

Lanen: "The moment I saw 'A Pomelo Lord.'"

The familiar flying craft control technique, the familiar wedding attire, even Lin You's name and the 'pomelo' in A Pomelo Lord...

Lin You sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling a bit guilty, looking around, but Lanen suddenly knelt down in front of him, in a knightly posture.

He took Lin You's hand and placed it on his cheek, nuzzling against it: "Was it you?"

Lin You: "What?"

Lanen's azure eyes gazed at him: "The ghost in the cockpit, the one who brought me back from the boneyard."

Lin You sighed: "It's me."

The existence of Unit 66 was a secret, and he didn't know how to explain it to Lanen—how his life, his hatred, everything about him originated from an absurd novel. So he chose to hide it.

But Lanen didn't press further. He wasn't curious about how Lin You had done it. He just smiled softly: "It really is you."

Lanen had never been lucky. Compared to other successful generals, his experiences were too convoluted, as if fate had never favored him, and Lanen had long grown accustomed to it.

But from a certain moment on, he suddenly received fate's mercy.

From the Young Majesty's indulgence and protection, to the miraculous safe return, to the kindness and treatment of old friends, their names being engraved and remembered...

It turned out that it wasn't fate that had shown him mercy, but the Young Majesty alone.

His heart pounded in his chest, as if half his body was soaked in warm water, so comfortable that he couldn't help but want to get closer to the heat source, to bury himself entirely in it.

Lin You wasn't used to such open displays of affection. He twitched his fingers, wanting to pull away: "What's wrong?"

But Lanen held his hand firmly instead. Maintaining his kneeling posture, he suddenly said: "You can do anything with me."

He repeated earnestly: "Anything."

Lanen was desperate to do something, to give something, like a knight pledging loyalty to his king, or a priest offering devotion to a deity. But the Collett family had already been entrusted to Lin You, and Lanen didn't know what else he could offer.

Lin You: "...What?"

What he didn't know was that this phrase was actually a common line used by many females in the Zerg, a cliché as common as breathing, used to flatter their proud and capricious males in exchange for pheromones.

But Lanen had never said it before.

Whether in the novel or in front of Lin You, he had never uttered this line, nor had he ever called Lin You "male master." From beginning to end, it was always "Young Majesty," "Young Majesty."

Perhaps the general of the Third Army, deep down, believed that no male could control him, body and soul, to the point of deserving his complete devotion. Beneath his gentle and beautiful exterior lay the most untamed soul. His body might submit, but his soul never would.

Now, he had said it so naturally that even Lanen himself was startled.

Lin You repeated: "I can do anything to you?"

"Yes," Lanen smiled.

In truth, the Zerg had many ways to engage, some excessive, some not. To the males, Lin You's style might seem as stiff as an old-fashioned scholar from ancient times, hardly indulging in any tricks.

Lanen wasn't sure if Lin You disliked indulging or simply cared for him too much to want to indulge.

But now, he was telling Lin You that he could choose other ways.

Lin You gasped.

As a virtual streamer, Lin You occasionally made suggestive remarks, but it was mostly talk. At heart, he was still an innocent kid. After fidgeting for a moment, the most excessive idea he could come up with was—

"Can you wear your uniform when we do it?"