Chapter 67: Physical Examination

Chapter 67: Medical Checkup

"The Alexander System, bordering the Empire, has suffered an invasion of their defense line by the Insectoid race. This could potentially impact the Empire's F-Sector star cluster. Marshal, under necessary circumstances, could the Research Institute provide bioweapon assistance against the Insectoids?"

The incessant stream of reports continued.

"Permission granted, provided the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successfully negotiates terms with the Alexander System's ruler."

A cold male voice pierced through the dream, muffled as if through a veil, yet seemingly close at hand.

"Captain Ross requests permission to lead troops to destroy the Skull faction's last stronghold within the Empire."

"Approved. Hostage safety is paramount."

"Understood."

"Marshal, the 'Alien Convention' we drafted has been rejected by the Galactic Union again, citing the absence of the royal seal."

A long silence ensued.

The meeting's presiding officer coolly lowered his silver gaze, his expression unreadable. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned deathly still; no one dared utter another sound.

Though the Marshal was physically on the top floor, the Secretary-General, forced to arrange today's schedule as an online meeting, was visibly tense. The adjutant, too, barely dared to breathe.

The Galactic Union, to put it bluntly, simply didn't want to deal with it. Over the years, they had concocted countless excuses to dismiss the matter, yet the military was powerless. Every time the Marshal received this news, he'd be in a foul mood for days, driving his officers into brutal drills.

The adjutant foresaw his miserable fate for the next few days—a despair beyond words. But the next second, he heard a low voice, tinged with unexpected warmth, ask, "Awake?"

The colonels, trembling as they awaited the Marshal's orders, exchanged incredulous glances, their expressions peculiar, yet they struggled to suppress any outward sign of their astonishment.

In the video, the Marshal moved his earpiece aside, and they could only hear another indistinct voice. Though the words were unclear, the tone was remarkably captivating.

Then came the Marshal’s soft reply.

"My apologies, was I too loud? Would you like to sleep a little longer?"

The adjutant glanced at his colleagues' stunned expressions. So what if the Marshal apologized? Why the fuss? He twitched an eyebrow—he’d witnessed far stranger things.

Rarely, the Secretary-General and the adjutant exchanged a knowing look.

Deng Xi had indeed been woken up. The constant murmur of human speech in his ears had disturbed his sleep, and the little merman fidgeted and squirmed restlessly on the warmed thigh he’d been using as a pillow.

He flipped over, rubbed his face, and his previously dangling blue tail was placed into the operating flying chair, where a cool mist of saltwater continuously sprayed.

"No more talking."

"Don’t disturb my sleep…"

Half-asleep, Deng Xi mumbled dreamily, but his voice was too soft, drowned out by the chatter in the earpiece. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Deng Xi opened his eyes and shot an annoyed glare at the source of the noise. "Little Mute!"

Si Jisheng froze slightly, lowering his silver eyes to look at him. After a moment, he offered a quiet apology.

Deng Xi was quick to forgive, his grumpiness fading rapidly. He had been exhausted the night before, staying up very late, which was why he’d been so irritable upon waking. His voice was still thick with sleep. "What are you doing?"

He pushed himself up, looking around in confusion. "How did I get here?" He let out a tiny yawn.

"Wait a moment." This was directed at Deng Xi. Si Jisheng turned to the holoscreen. "This year’s strategic supplies the Empire provided to the Galactic Union." He paused, his voice unreadable. "Have they been delivered?"

The Secretary-General immediately responded, "The warship is still en route."

Si Jisheng lifted his gaze, his tone deceptively calm, though a deep chill could be detected beneath. "Recall them. Tell the Union they were stolen by space pirates along the way."

The adjutant’s eye twitched again. Supplies from a military superpower, stolen by space pirates? Marshal, who would believe that? Yet despite his mental eye-roll, he couldn’t help but smirk. Finally, some payback.

Si Jisheng turned to the Secretary-General. "Have the royal family member responsible for sealing the convention come to the military headquarters to see me personally later."

The Secretary-General immediately agreed, smoothly changing the subject. "And the meeting?"

"Temporarily suspended."

The call was cut the next second. Si Jisheng removed his earpiece and set it on the table before looking down at Deng Xi. "Your tail."

To prop himself up, Deng Xi had partially rested his tail on the chair. Only now did he feel the strain, and with a thought, his tail shifted into human legs.

Still damp with seawater, his bare legs knelt on the chair, the soaked merman gauze dress clinging to his frame.

Deng Xi straightened up, his mind still groggy. He vaguely remembered this was Little Mute’s workplace and frowned in confusion, unsure how he’d ended up here after falling asleep.

He flipped the script, accusing, "Why didn’t Little Mute let me sleep at home? And why did you wake me up?"

Si Jisheng narrowed his mercury-colored eyes, tapping a few commands on the holoscreen. Soon, a shaky footage played—the perspective constantly shifting as the person holding the recorder moved around.

A deep voice in the video spoke, "Keep squirming, and I won’t take you with me."

Only then did the little merman, who had been clinging to the person’s arm, still, mumbling something before drowsily leaning against him.

Finally, the movement stopped.

Deng Xi watched in mortification as the video showed him, more clingy than a koala, holding onto Little Mute’s shoulders the entire time. The moment he was pulled away, his tail would flail until he could cling again.

Bare-chested, Little Mute had barely managed to put on his uniform before Deng Xi tugged it off again. Half-asleep, Deng Xi had no inhibitions, insisting on pressing against the silver-tailed man’s cool body.

All remnants of sleepiness vanished instantly. Fully awake now, Deng Xi had no room for excuses with the video as evidence. He lowered his head, his face flaming red, burying his face like an ostrich in embarrassment.

He sneakily lowered one foot, toes brushing the cold floor, slowly standing up before lowering the other. Unable to explain himself, he prepared to flee.

Si Jisheng caught him, the mechanical gauntlet gently squeezing the soft flesh of his forearm as he kept a light grip. "Put on shoes before running."

There was a barely concealed amusement in his voice.

Very soft. Very muffled.

But it was there!

Deng Xi could hear it!

He scowled petulantly, unreasonable. "That was the sleeping me." He turned his face away. "I don’t know why I did that, but Little Mute isn’t allowed to laugh at me."

Si Jisheng frowned, realizing something. "Why were you suddenly so..." He paused, choosing a word that would save Deng Xi some face. "Sensitive to the cold?"

"Were you feeling too hot?"

Or was it simply that he wanted to cling to him and refused to let go?

Deng Xi shook his head, convinced Little Mute was still mocking him internally. "I don’t know. Little Mute isn’t allowed to ask anymore, and you can’t watch this again either." He reached out and closed the video.

Si Jisheng couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Logically, no matter how deeply asleep one was, they shouldn’t become so clingy—insisting on holding onto him like that.

It was as if the merman's icy body temperature and cool aura had a calming effect.

"In the afternoon, come with me for a physical exam?" Si Jisheng quickly opened the communication interface with Dr. Li, waiting for Deng Xi's agreement before immediately arranging it with Dr. Li.

Deng Xi asked innocently, "What's a physical exam?"

Si Jisheng patiently explained, "When humans feel something is wrong with their bodies, they choose to undergo a full check-up to check for hidden illnesses. Early detection allows treatment in the early stages when it's easier to treat."

"So that the illness doesn’t worsen to a point of no return without our knowledge."

Deng Xi blinked in confusion, "But I’m not sick."

Si Jisheng wanted to say more.

But Deng Xi was actually getting upset and asked, confused, "Does wanting to hug you count as being sick?"

Si Jisheng paused momentarily, his breath tightening, before replying after a pause, "No."

Deng Xi lowered his eyelids, "I don’t want to go for a check-up."

Si Jisheng was at a loss. After some thought, he said, "Then accompany me to do it, how about that?"

Deng Xi asked nervously, "Is Little Mute sick? Is there something wrong with your body?"

Si Jisheng shook his head slightly, "Just a routine check-up, just to be safe."

His goal was to get Deng Xi used to the idea.

Si Jisheng took a towel from his quarters and handed it to Deng Xi to dry his legs, then gave him spare clothes to change into.

Soon, Dr. Li arrived after receiving the message.

"There’s an available high-end med-pod, Marshal. When would you like to proceed?"

Si Jisheng replied, "Now."

Deng Xi was led to the top floor of the treatment center. After passing through countless corridors, the relocated Treatment Pod stood waiting quietly in the cold room.

The familiar white shell, the transparent glass layer.

Deng Xi’s eyes widened, and he suddenly turned to hug Little Mute, his body trembling. "Don’t do it," he said in a panic. "Let’s not do the check-up, okay?"

Si Jisheng was momentarily stunned, "What’s wrong?"

Deng Xi clung tighter, trying to block Si Jisheng’s path and prevent him from taking even half a step closer to the Treatment Pod. "It’ll cut my tail open."

Only then did Si Jisheng realize what Deng Xi was afraid of. He comfortingly petted Deng Xi’s golden hair, "It’s different from the one in the treatment room. Trust me, okay?"

Deng Xi hesitantly lifted his face, glancing back at the Treatment Pod, which in his eyes was no different from an instrument of torture, then looked at Dr. Li.

Dr. Li also nodded, giving a reassuring look.

Deng Xi slowly released Little Mute. He bit his lip and, without hesitation, said, "Then I’ll go first."

"I’ll go first."

Even if there was a risk of his tail being cut open, Deng Xi would be the first to try it to verify whether Little Mute had lied to him.

He feared Little Mute going in but wasn’t afraid at all to lie in the Treatment Pod himself—because Deng Xi knew that while Little Mute might hurt himself for many reasons, he would absolutely never harm him.

For a moment, Si Jisheng’s chest felt tight. After a long pause, he finally managed to compose himself and said softly, "I promise, it’s safe. It won’t hurt you."

Deng Xi smiled faintly, "Okay."

A normal Treatment Pod wouldn’t fill with any liquid when not in use for treatment. A check-up only required lying inside for a full-body scan, not even a blood test.

The entire process took less than ten seconds.

Deng Xi, stepping out again, looked blankly at the Treatment Pod, "Is it really done already?"

Dr. Li pulled up the scan results to the neural computer for review and smiled, "Of course."

Flustered by his false alarm, Deng Xi shyly ducked behind Little Mute.

Dr. Li soon announced, "Deng Xi’s body is perfectly fine. He’s very healthy." Then she paused, "Except for one thing—his sex hormones are running unusually high." She chose a tactful phrasing, "Very active."

"But this isn’t unheard of. Other species have different biology from humans, so we can’t judge them by normal standards. If it doesn’t affect daily life, then there’s no problem."

"Nothing to be concerned about."

PS:

Author’s Note: Kid, your mom suggests you keep your distance from men for a while (What do you aunties think?)