Chapter 63

Chapter 63

That communicator was a disposable item; after a five-minute conversation, it self-destructed, vanishing without a trace.

Ruan Yunchu sat on the big, quiet bed, with only the faint rustling of 502 playing a mini-game on the smart system beside him. The conversations from moments ago felt like nothing more than an illusion.

Yan Zhuo had finally agreed to his request, adding many words meant to ease his mind. Words that used to sound like nonsense actually gave him a little comfort at a time like this.

He relaxed and flopped back onto the big bed, staring at the cold steel ceiling above. There was not a trace of the sunlight he loved, only cold, harsh light.

It stirred a longing he hadn't felt in a long time.

He wanted to go home.

502 was highly perceptive of emotions. Sensing his bad mood, he immediately moved closer and softly asked how he was feeling.

Ruan Yunchu thought for a moment and then decided to just tell him about A-Star.

"Have you ever been to other planets?"

502 shook his head. "I've always been inside."

"When you go back to A-Star with me, you'll find it very novel. A-Star is the Flower City. The streets and alleys are filled with all kinds of flowers, beautiful all year round."

502's eyes lit up slightly. "Can I live there then? The researchers said... we're special, and that society won't accept us."

"As long as you're a good person, the Alliance will unconditionally accept you and give you official citizenship. Then you can go to school, or work."

Ruan Yunchu suddenly thought of something. "I know a kid. Later, you can study with him. He should be about your age, but he's really sharp. You two can go to school together, and he can learn from your manners and class."

502's eyes brightened, and for the first time, he began to imagine what the future might hold.

-

After Yan Zhuo finished the star call, he sat in his office for a long time, burdened with thoughts.

His mind kept flashing between Ruan Yunchu's relentless, cold words and 04's deliberately innocent face.

If his guess was correct, these serial numbers were ordered by their creation sequence. And since Ruan Yunchu, as the child of Ruan Mingyi, the creator of this technology, was ranked so early in the sequence, it made sense.

But if the relationship was that close, why was he only the fourth?

For some reason, Yan Zhuo guessed that 04 might know the inside story, but he couldn't be sure if the other would tell him, since even though 04 put on that innocent, pure facade, he was actually no pushover.

Just as he was thinking, there was a knock at the door. His adjutant hesitated before entering and said in a low voice, "That person is making a fuss in the room, demanding to see you."

Yan Zhuo's expression darkened. After a moment's thought, he stood up. "I'll go take a look."

At the door, he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, have someone contact A-Star and send a message to the T-Star coordinates, to 107 XX Avenue, to find a kid named Sanan. Tell him he's safe."

"Yes, sir."

The adjutant looked confused, clearly thinking it was absurd to bother with such a trivial matter amid the ongoing stalemate in battle, but an order was an order, and he didn't ask further.

Leaving the office, Yan Zhuo headed straight for his own room. When he reached the door, it slid open automatically on both sides, revealing the mess inside.

04 heard the sound and immediately got up from the bed, rushing to throw himself into Yan Zhuo's arms.

Yan Zhuo sidestepped, catching his shoulder with a firm hand. "What do you want?"

"Can't I want to see you without a reason?" 04 looked very aggrieved, as if he couldn't understand why the other was being so cold. "Do you really hate me?"

Looking at that face, Yan Zhuo couldn't bring himself to say the words—after all, he did like Ruan Yunchu's face. It was a pity... the person in front of him only had a face similar to his.

Seeing that he didn't respond, 04 flashed a sly smile. He seemed to know he'd been found out, so he decided to stop acting.

"I know what you want. Want me to tell you?"

Yan Zhuo's expression remained unchanged, maintaining his usual composure. "Go ahead."

04 thought for a second. "Your attitude toward me is too cold. If you say something nice to me, I'll tell you."

"No, I won't." Yan Zhuo lost patience. "If you've got nothing else, I'm out of here."

"Don't go—"

04 grabbed his arm, sounding frustrated. "Even you're bullying me."

Yan Zhuo stopped, letting himself be pulled, but didn't move.

04 plopped down on the edge of the bed, looking unhappy. "I'm already this miserable. My father was always so harsh with me, and then those researchers were the same. Everyone said you'd be good to me, but even they lied about that. You don't like me at all, I can tell."

"I don't hate you." Yan Zhuo thought for a moment and explained, "If you're being honest."

04's eyes lit up. He stared straight at Yan Zhuo and whispered two names.

Those were names of pioneering generals who had made great contributions to the Alliance, figures of extremely high status even now.

Yan Zhuo frowned slightly. "Do you know who they are? You can't just throw names around like that."

"But it's them! Each of us originally had names, and they were called that. I've even seen them on TV." 04 argued seriously.

Yan Zhuo fell silent.

"I've told you the truth, so shouldn't you be nicer to me now?" 04 pouted in grievance. "Anyway, he's going to die for sure. From now on, just treat me like him. I'm even better than he is."

04 had seen photos of the interactions between those two in the research institute. The person who looked exactly like him was very cold, completely different from his own personality.

Who could stand someone like that? Having lived in the research institute since birth, 04 couldn't understand such complex feelings at all.

"You wouldn't understand." Yan Zhuo let go of his hand and turned to leave.

But the moment he turned, the young man, who had been looking at him with loving eyes, instantly wore a dangerous, playful expression. A thread of silver glimmered at his fingertips, about to pierce the back of his neck—when the other suddenly turned back.

"Oh, by the way, someone will take you for a medical check-up in ten minutes. Just go along with it."

By then, 04 had instantly put back on his innocent face. He nodded obediently.

Yan Zhuo left the room, closed the door, and let out a slow breath. He warned the guards on either side again about 04's danger.

"He probably has some hidden weapons on him. Have the doctor remove them."

"Yes, sir."

Yan Zhuo didn't intend to send that so-called list back to A-Star. 04's words couldn't be trusted; they might just be slander against the top brass.

The Alliance had been in turmoil lately and couldn't handle that kind of infighting.

Before even reaching the office, he couldn't help reaching into his pocket, stroking the frayed photograph.

At that moment, an intense longing for the young master, whose safety was unknown, welled up inside him. But he had no idea when he'd get to see him again.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the office door. Before he could even rest for a moment, a message came back.

"Commander, we sent a message to T Star as you ordered, but they didn't find Sanan. The school said he’s been on leave for about half a month."

"..."

The starship traveled nonstop, day and night, with hardly any pause.

Ruan Yunchu had no idea where their destination was. All he knew was that every time he stepped out of his room, he faced the brightly lit corridor lined with guards.

Noah often came to see him, using the excuse of delivering things, practically taking over all the kitchen work.

That faint, covetous look in his eyes made Ruan Yunchu uneasy. He had always hated that feeling. Even if Noah was gentlemanly, and his appearance was impeccable, it still failed to win him over.

Three straight days in the lab, and the new medication had shown remarkable progress. The 'people' who had been wailing on the ground a week ago had recovered quite a bit. Though the side effects on their skin hadn't fully faded, they had regained some semblance of human form, no longer resembling beasts.

The Chief was quite pleased with this and even praised him specially, preparing a gathering for him.

The rebels were currently being hunted by the Alliance army, yet they still had the leisure to hold a banquet—it genuinely unsettled Ruan Yunchu. He became increasingly aware that these were reckless individuals who didn't even value their own lives.

Noah seemed very happy and even brought him a suit.

It was a water-blue suit, a runway piece from some luxury brand on A Star. When it first came out, Ming Ya had sent him a message about it, amazed.

Ruan Yunchu only glanced at it and asked, "Did you buy this?"

Noah smiled, "Yes, I thought it would suit you."

"You're on the run every day, and you still manage to shop?"

"Life with me isn't so bad. We have our means. From now on, whatever you want, I'll get it for you. I won't let you live any worse than you did on A Star."

Ruan Yunchu didn't respond to him, and that night, he didn't put on that suit either.

All the influential figures of the rebels were present. It was only then that the relatives usually hidden on other starships finally showed up.

The room was full of people singing and dancing—a dance they must have learned somewhere, which looked a bit eerie.

Noah sat right next to Ruan Yunchu, introducing the dishes on the table, while the Chief still sat in the elevated seat. He seemed to particularly enjoy this sense of superiority, like an ancient emperor, above everyone else.

Ruan Yunchu thought to himself, if we're talking about similarities, the desire for immortality is no different.

After the meal, the air was thick with the smell of alcohol.

Ruan Yunchu hadn't touched a drop. Seeing that even Noah next to him was drunk, he suggested stepping out for some fresh air. 502 happened to be nearby, so Noah signaled for them to leave.

Walking out of the banquet hall, they twisted and turned until they finally returned to the main starship through the connecting cabin. When they reached the underground level, Ruan Yunchu suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

502 stopped and looked at him curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

"I was thinking, if I detonated the central starship now, the rebels might really be wiped out."

502 looked confused, "But then we'd die too."

"Yeah, so forget it."

Besides, it was just a fleeting thought. Without any plan, it probably wouldn't succeed and might even backfire.

"And I don't want to die either. I haven't seen my brother yet," 502 said softly, a bit lost.

Ruan Yunchu reached out and ruffled his hair, noticing that he was a bit shorter than Lin Zheng. The strange sense of unease in his heart quietly faded.

"Don't worry."

There were guards at the underground level. Seeing the guards, Ruan Yunchu prepared to leave empty-handed, but unexpectedly, the guards on both sides were startled when they saw him.

The corridor was thick with the smell of alcohol, as if they too knew there was a party upstairs and had secretly had a few drinks themselves.

"You... you're here."

For some reason, seeing Ruan Yunchu, the two looked as if they'd seen a ghost, tensing up completely.

Though surprised, Ruan Yunchu stayed calm and collected, "I'm going to take a look inside."

"Please, go ahead."

Without any hindrance, Ruan Yunchu walked freely through the dungeon.

Since they were in a starship, even the underground level wasn't cold or damp. Both sides of the corridor were lined with rooms, and small windows allowed a full view of the cramped spaces.

But most of the rooms were empty.

502 seemed surprised by this. "Last time I came here, they told me to leave."

Ruan Yunchu said, "Relax, I'm not saying you lied."

He always seemed to guess 502's thoughts first, which put 502 at ease.

The corridor seemed endless. They walked for what felt like a long time, occasionally seeing figures curled up in the rooms, all looking young.

The mirror at the far end gradually grew larger. When Ruan Yunchu saw his own reflection in it, he knew he had reached the end. He felt his way to a side room, found it empty, and was about to leave when a pained groan came from inside.

The voice had an indescribable familiarity. His steps stopped immediately, and he quickly pinpointed the source of the sound.

It was from the mirror in front of him—apparently, there was a hidden cell behind it.

"Do you know how to open this room?"

502 shook his head honestly. "This is my first time here."

So Ruan Yunchu didn't ask further. He gently touched the mirror's surface and pressed down lightly from memory where the window was.

In an instant, the mirror seemed to flow like water, melting away, revealing a small window.

Through the window, he saw a thin figure curled up inside.

Recognizing the person's pained face, Ruan Yunchu's pupils contracted slightly, and his mind went blank for a second.

"Sanan?"

Hearing someone call his name, the young man, who had been curled up, trembled and jerked his head up to look at them. But when he saw Ruan Yunchu's face through the window, he shrank back warily.

"Get away! Stay away from me!"

Ruan Yunchu frowned slightly, quickly guessing the situation. "I'm not an impostor."

Sanan seemed moved, his body tense, but he didn't completely drop his guard. He struggled to his feet, walked step by step to a meter away from the window, and stared at Ruan Yunchu coldly and sternly.

"Why should I believe you?"

You have a friend who works on A-Star, and I've already asked someone to look after him. Or perhaps I should ask how your amateur cooking lessons are coming along." Ruan Yunchu said calmly.

The life goal he had once jokingly mentioned was brought up by the other, and Sanan's eyes lit up, instantly welling with tears. "Brother Fu Yun!"

Ruan Yunchu couldn't comfort him, so he just asked, "How did you end up here?"

"I don't know. Someone who looks exactly like you sent me a star-call, said they needed my help, so I followed their instructions and boarded a starship. They said it was heading to A-Star, but I woke up in some white, sterile room. Those people said they wanted to run tests on me, induce something..."

Ruan Yunchu frowned, a wave of irritation and disgust welling up inside him.

Back on T-Star, he had already realized that Sanan's future pheromones and mental strength wouldn't be weak, so he planned to bring him back to A-Star for training. But unexpectedly, this had inadvertently played into the rebels' hands.

Sanan usually acted like a wild little wolf outside, ready to bite anyone, and even after being forcibly brought here, he hadn't given those people the satisfaction, instead causing a huge commotion.

Only in front of Ruan Yunchu would this little hellion show such a pitiful side.

"Brother Fu Yun, are we on rebel territory now?"

"Yeah."

"Then... how did you get here?"

"Just an accident." Ruan Yunchu didn't want to explain too much. "Have they injected you with anything?"

Sanan trusted him completely, especially now in this critical moment, and immediately regained his composure. "They drew my blood and injected a lot of stuff into me. I don't know what it was, but after that, I always felt uncomfortable and weak."

"It's probably just something similar to a sedative. It's normal for you to have a rejection reaction." Ruan Yunchu pondered, gradually coming up with a plan. "They're so wary of you because they've probably already tested your mental strength. Have you been feeling hot recently?"

Sanan's dark cheeks flushed an odd red, and he looked a little embarrassed. "Occasionally."

Ruan Yunchu's heart sank.

If Sanan were to present as a high-grade alpha at this time, his situation would be extremely grim.

He couldn't delay any longer.

Without saying much more, he gave Sanan a few instructions and quickly left with 502.

Weighed down by his thoughts, he climbed the stairs step by step. The light from the upper levels hadn't yet reached him when several dark figures appeared, standing on the ground ahead.

502 instinctively stepped forward, but Ruan Yunchu raised a hand to stop him. Lifting his head to meet their gazes, he remained calm.

"Mr. Ruan, Mr. Noah is drunk and looking for you."

Ruan Yunchu didn't waste time with them. He simply patted 502 on the shoulder and said, "Go back to your room first, finish the assignment I gave you. If you're hungry, go to the kitchen and find something to eat."

502 hesitated, then nodded, "Okay."

Ruan Yunchu made no resistance and followed the men away. 502 followed a few steps toward his room, then suddenly realized something, quickened his pace, and broke into a run.