Chapter 71: True Heart

Chapter 71: True Heart

He didn't have time to say anything else. As he retreated, shielding Yan Wanqiu behind him, he raised his quantum gun and aimed it at the massive mechanical construct before them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The quantum gun Xie Chi held was the original model, and every blue beam it fired landed precisely on the smooth, orb-like brain of the machine, with three muffled explosions in quick succession.

Half of the machine's head was completely blown off, exposing intricate electronic components inside, where electric currents still flickered.

Xie Chi was a bit surprised. According to the information he had given earlier, the Mechanical Alien Race possessed physical durability far beyond that of ordinary beings—it would take at least a quantum cannon to shatter their energy cores.

Struck at its vital point, the machine's body swayed for a moment before it steadied itself again.

Realizing it had already lost half its power, the machine went berserk, moving several times faster. The blade attached to its arm transformed into an electromagnetic cannon barrel, unleashing blue-white electric currents in all directions.

Boom!

The nearby building was blasted, leaving a deep crater, and snow flew wildly across the ground as Xie Chi and Yan Wanqiu barely dodged the attacks.

"Your Majesty, please step back. I've got this," Xie Chi finally spoke.

Yan Wanqiu was caught off guard for a moment, but before he could say anything, he saw Xie Chi already charging toward the machine through the barrage of fire.

Xie Chi casually pulled an explosive from his dimensional storage, tossed it at the machine, and simultaneously switched his gun for an electromagnetic gun, landing a precise shot on the explosive.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out, electricity crackling and erupting with massive blue-purple lightning. The machine's head was completely blown to pieces, leaving only half its body.

It stopped moving entirely, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of powdery snow.

The guard force had just arrived with quantum cannons when they saw the battlefield in shambles, with Xie Chi standing calmly beside the machine's shattered remains.

"L-Lord Xie?"

Xie Chi blinked, snapping out of it. "It's all good, already dealt with. Take the corpse down and give it to Shi Peijue—let him see if there's anything useful left."

The guards nodded in acknowledgment and quickly began clearing the scene. The people who had been scattering in a panic gradually gathered around, curiously examining the electronic parts on the ground or helping to gather the remains.

Although they knew the Mechanical Civilization had invaded, this was the first time they had seen one up close.

"So this is the alien race? It doesn't seem as tough as described in the meetings."

"Meng Chang was only in his twenties... what a waste. Does anyone have his family's contact info?"

"He was an orphan, I think. He registered our research institute's number as his emergency contact."

Hearing the murmurs around him, Xie Chi quietly walked over to Yan Wanqiu's side. After a moment of silence, he said, "Sorry, Your Majesty, for earlier."

Yan Wanqiu's face was pale—the smell of blood during pregnancy made him nauseous—but he turned to look at Xie Chi and asked softly, "You okay?"

Xie Chi kept his head down, unwilling to say more.

He didn't know what was wrong with him either.

He had killed countless people before. Human lives were nothing more than numbers in his eyes, and he had never felt any guilt from killing.

He was an assassin. That's how he was raised—assassination was a perfectly normal job, and their organization even held a legitimate business license issued by the Federation.

But this time, it was different.

Watching someone he knew die right before his eyes, reduced to nothing but a headless corpse, Xie Chi felt a heavy tightness in his chest.

This wasn't exactly something appropriate to discuss with his superior, so Xie Chi simply kept it to himself, trying to process these emotions on his own.

Yan Wanqiu's red eyes watched him for a while, then suddenly said, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll give you the day off. After the meeting, go home and rest—you've been working hard lately."

Xie Chi didn't refuse. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

.

There was no time to dwell on his grief for long. After burying Meng Chang in the cemetery, the research institute immediately began taking apart and studying the Mechanical Alien's body. Xie Chi and Yan Wanqiu received the drones, and the city lords came as soon as they heard the news, quickly convening an in-person meeting about the invasion.

"I fired three shots at its head with the quantum gun, then casually tossed an explosive at it and detonated it with the electromagnetic gun. That finished it off."

In the meeting room, Xie Chi was recounting the full process of how he killed the machine.

David frowned at this and pressed: "What exactly was the explosive Lord Xie threw?"

Xie Chi thought for a moment: "It was a smart device Yan Baiyue gave me earlier. It had a micro-bomb inside, nowhere near as strong as a regular bomb."

The people in the meeting room were all a little surprised.

You Fuzhu said thoughtfully: "From what you're saying, these aliens' physical durability doesn't seem all that impressive?"

Previously, Xie Chi had provided them with detailed documentation, which mentioned that blowing their heads off required at least a quantum cannon bombardment. Yet Xie Chi had pulled it off with a few shots and a micro-bomb.

Xie Chi had considered this point as well, and he nodded in response: "That's correct. I gave them too much credit."

His frame of reference had been the Mechanical Civilization three thousand years in the future. In truth, when writing the report, Xie Chi had already factored in the power difference and deliberately toned it down—yet the current machines turned out to be even weaker than he had expected.

The city lords in the meeting all breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of the Mechanical Civilization's strength as described by Xie Chi, their preparations over this period had been downright frantic. Every city had been gripped by the fear of not having enough firepower.

Quantum cannons were being mass-produced in bulk. A thousand ground mechs was never enough, and ten thousand was never too many—in short, stockpile as much as possible, terrified that North Star would suffer the same fate as Resort Star K322.

They had wondered why the other satellite stars had managed to hold out so long with just electromagnetic guns, but ultimately figured it was because those planets had more people and more money.

Now it turned out—the real reason was that the enemy was just weak.

This was one of the few pieces of good news they'd had in a while, and people even started to smile.

Yan Wanqiu thought for a moment, then spoke: "We can keep this information to ourselves, but maintain the same level of combat readiness as before."

"This time there was only one alien, clearly sent to scout things out. Now that it's been destroyed, we'll likely see signs of these aliens popping up across various locations in the coming days. We must strengthen our defenses, take them out as soon as possible, and not underestimate the enemy—nor allow another tragedy like today's to happen."

The city lords nodded in agreement, showing they understood.

The conversation then turned to Yure and the others' discovery of the network hub. Everyone's opinion was in line with Yan Wanqiu's—stay hidden for now and wait for the right moment to act.

Bai Fengyun sighed: "Although these aliens are weaker than we expected, they have backing from their home planet. Every campaign is coordinated with the Main Star Army—they occupy a planet, force people to join their army, then move on to the next. If war truly breaks out, we probably can't afford a long war."

David chimed in: "Unless we find a way to annihilate them all at once, or find a way to stop their constant conscription."

Everyone weighed in on this point. Some said to wait for the research institute's results—perhaps they could come up with something brilliant. Others suggested sending people to attack the Mechanical Alien Race's home base and destroy their central network, so they can't organize effectively. And so on.

Yan Wanqiu listened quietly until everyone had finished speaking, then said: "All of your suggestions are good ideas, but they all require time."

"Whether the research institute can come up with something is unknown, and it will take a long time regardless. We don't know where the Mechanical Civilization is located, and we currently don't have the ability to send troops there. All these plans need time—and time is exactly what we don't have."

"But there is one thing we can do right now that could quickly ease the war situation once accomplished."

You Fuzhu looked puzzled and asked, "What is it?"

Yan Wanqiu said slowly and deliberately, "Kill Yan Huishi, seize power, and take control of the Main Star Army that fights alongside the Mechanical Civilization."

Everyone present was shocked, and they immediately realized what Yan Wanqiu was planning.

You Fuzhu had the strongest reaction, his face darkening as he immediately objected, "Absolutely not, it's too dangerous! To pull this off, we'd have to go deep into the main star. Your Majesty, if your body gives out at that moment, I won't have time to take care of you."

Hearing this, Yan Wanqiu instinctively touched his lower abdomen beneath the table.

You Fuzhu's words didn't sway him for a second. He looked up with determination and said, "But if we don't do this and end up in a stalemate with them, we're doomed. Either way, I'd die eventually."

"One path is certain death, the other is a risky shot at survival. Since you all call me Your Majesty, I can't just play it safe and lead you all to ruin."

You Fuzhu said urgently, "But you're still..."

Yan Wanqiu cut him off directly, "If Lord You is worried, you can come with me to the main star."

You Fuzhu gritted his teeth, wishing he could shake some sense into Yan Wanqiu.

This guy was still pregnant with two kids! Did he have any clue what it meant to be an expectant father?!

But he also knew Yan Wanqiu was telling the truth. With the bigger picture at stake, even pregnant, Yan Wanqiu had to go to the battlefield.

He could only reluctantly agree, "Yes."

The city lords present all assumed they were talking about Yan Wanqiu's Pheromone Dysregulation Syndrome. One of the lords asked with concern, "Has Your Majesty's dysregulation syndrome still not recovered?"

After taking Xiansong City, Yan Wanqiu had never again reported a relapse of the syndrome, and had been working nonstop for over a month.

Everyone naturally assumed You Fuzhu had gradually cured Yan Wanqiu, and that the earlier relapse was just a ploy to lure the enemy.

Now, hearing You Fuzhu's words, it seemed Yan Wanqiu was still sick, and maybe in bad shape.

Even Xie Chi, who had been quiet all afternoon, looked at Yan Wanqiu with doubt and worry in his eyes.

Yan Wanqiu: "..."

The dysregulation syndrome was almost cured, but he still had at least six months of pregnancy left.

He braced himself and said, "It's still in the recovery phase. No need for everyone to worry too much."

Seeing that Yan Wanqiu didn't seem to want to go into detail, the city lords didn't push further and went back to discussing whether Yan Wanqiu could return to the main star.

Xie Chi, however, shot Yan Wanqiu another glance.

Once they'd roughly finalized the plans for Yan Wanqiu to return to the main star and seize military power, the meeting ended.

Yan Wanqiu was sorting through documents and said casually to Xie Chi, "Go home and rest. Come back to work at this time tomorrow."

It was already seven in the evening, and the busiest hours were usually during the day, so Yan Wanqiu was basically giving him two days off.

Xie Chi nodded. He really did need some quiet time to pull himself together.

But before leaving, he couldn't help asking with worry, "Your Majesty, your dysregulation syndrome..."

Yan Wanqiu paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

Xie Chi wasn't convinced.

He still remembered that during the battle for Xiansong City, Yan Wanqiu suddenly went pale and started shaking all over, and just earlier, when facing the Mechanical Alien Race, Yan Wanqiu's complexion had also looked bad.

Though he always wished for a promotion, riches, and his boss's downfall, at this moment, Xie Chi didn't want anything to happen to Yan Wanqiu.

Yan Wanqiu was the backbone of the Northern Domain Star and a leader in the hearts of countless rebels on the satellite stars.

If he fell, the entire resistance would take a huge hit to morale, and the Mechanical Alien Race would only advance more freely.

Besides... someone like Yan Wanqiu shouldn't fall here.

Xie Chi thought for a moment and finally pulled ten bottles of repair fluid from his pocket, handing them to Yan Wanqiu.

Last time, he'd pulled out six hundred bottles of repair fluid at once, and the camp had been watering it down ever since. Later, You Fuzhu made a knockoff, which worked well enough, but it wasn't as effective as the original Xie Chi had.

Xie Chi didn't have many left—only about six or seven hundred bottles. He'd planned to save them for himself and his wife, so he hadn't taken any more out.

But he also remembered that when Yan Wanqiu's pheromone dysregulation syndrome had flared up and caused havoc, the repair fluid had helped a little.

Xie Chi said seriously, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."

With that, he left, leaving Yan Wanqiu staring at the repair fluid, dazed.

After a long moment, Yan Wanqiu let out a quiet laugh.

"This idiot..."

.

Xie Chi went home, took a listless shower, had no appetite for dinner, forced himself to chat with his wife for a bit, and then went to bed.

He curled up under the covers, not sleepy at all.

This was the first time someone he knew had died right in front of him.

They weren't particularly close, but they were at least acquaintances, and the impact on Xie Chi went beyond just losing someone.

A lot of things ran through his mind.

Yan Wanqiu, Nie Huaiyi, Mr. Ai—they were all flesh and blood too. They could die, maybe in even worse ways.

Under the iron heel of the alien invasion, death was so common.

And the Mechanical Civilization, hell-bent on conquering the entire Kingdom, clearly wasn't going to let things go easily. As Yan Wanqiu said, this was a war for the whole Kingdom. If they lost, it would mean the end of their entire race.

From here on, everything would follow history: the Interstellar Federation would be formed, and the Mechanical Civilization would build the Star Network across the universe.

If he wanted to escape, he'd have to take his wife to remote star systems like the Planet Race or Tentacle Race—places that even three thousand years later were rarely visited.

Not to mention whether he could even get there—these races were extremely xenophobic, and because they were too powerful and fed on cosmic energy, their tech lagged behind. Even finding food there would be a problem.

Xie Chi bit his lip.

Just as his mind was in turmoil, he heard a rustling sound at the door.

At first, Xie Chi thought he was hearing things, but after a few seconds, he realized the sound was real.

He sat up abruptly, hurried to the door, and saw a man who had raised his hand to knock.

The man wore a half-face mask and carried a food box. He looked at Xie Chi in surprise, then chuckled, "You heard me? I thought you hadn't noticed."

"Babe, why are you here?" Xie Chi asked, caught between surprise and delight, pulling the man inside.

Yan Wanqiu pinched his nose: "His Majesty told me you were feeling down, so I came to check on you."

Xie Chi's eyes widened: "Yan Wanqiu?"

Since when was this guy so easy to deal with? Were those ten bottles of repair fluid he gave him actually working?

Yan Wanqiu bristled at his skeptical tone and kept pinching his nose: "What, don't you want to see me?"

Xie Chi couldn't breathe through his nose, so he gasped through his mouth and said nasally: "No! I'm really happy!"

That was when Yan Wanqiu finally let go, satisfied.

He headed straight for the dining area, glanced around, and said: "I figured you hadn't eaten. I brought you some food—come have dinner first."

Xie Chi instantly shook off the earlier gloom and happily went to sit at the dining table.

Yan Wanqiu had brought two simple takeout meals and some snacks. He didn't ask Xie Chi what was wrong, just sat down and ate dinner with him slowly, making small talk.

After dinner, they loaded the dishwasher, showered, and changed into pajamas. Yan Wanqiu and Xie Chi returned to the bedroom together.

The bedroom was lit only by a dim bedside lamp, casting a warm orange glow over the headboard area. Yan Wanqiu sat propped against the headboard, Xie Chi nestled in his arms.

Xie Chi hugged his waist and picked up on a change in him.

He reached out and touched the man's slightly rounded belly.

It was just a slight curve, like the gentle slope of a hand resting flat on a table, but it was unmistakably a curve.

Xie Chi was puzzled: "Babe, have you put on a little weight lately?"

Yan Wanqiu: "..."

Yan Wanqiu said, flustered and irritated: "What? Got a problem with that?"

"No, no, not at all." Xie Chi shook his head repeatedly.

He didn't pull his hand away; instead, he kept curiously feeling it over and over.

It was just so new to him...

Such a soft curve on a man's chiseled, muscular waist was such a contrast.

Xie Chi had only ever seen the man's lower abdomen bulge when he'd been inside him before, and this was the first time he'd seen it slightly protrude in an everyday setting.

Yan Wanqiu felt self-conscious under his touch.

Although Xie Chi didn't know, he himself knew he was pregnant, with two babies inside.

Having Xie Chi examine it like it was just belly fat from skipping workouts was way too embarrassing.

He pressed his lips together and changed the subject: "You were in a bad mood today—who ticked you off?"

Xie Chi froze.

He thought again of what he'd seen that morning, lowered his eyes, his smile slowly fading, and said quietly: "I don't know."

Yan Wanqiu looked puzzled.

Xie Chi stopped examining the man's belly and instead hugged him, burying himself in his arms like he was hiding from the world, and repeated in a whisper: "I don't know..."

"Babe, I've realized I'm not as decisive as I thought. When faced with big matters, I can't make quick decisions like you and the others can."

Xie Chi couldn't make sense of his own thoughts and just rambled.

"Today I saw the Mechanical Alien Race. It killed a person—I recognized that person. I kept thinking, in the future, a lot more people—people I know or don't know—are going to die like that because of them."

"Honestly, I don't really care about anyone else but you. I just want you to be safe, and they already have the ability to resist. Whether I'm involved or not doesn't make that big a difference, but I also can't just grab you and run."

"I hope you can win, because if we leave and you lose, I'd feel guilty. I just don't know..."

Xie Chi trailed off, feeling that even he himself sounded all over the place.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't want to dump this on you—it makes me sound so immature."

Yan Wanqiu had been listening quietly the whole time. When Xie Chi finally finished, he let out a helpless sigh and ruffled his hair.

"You don't have to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. Hesitating is normal. Xie Chi, you're only eighteen—there's no need to compare yourself to those sly old foxes in the meetings."

Even the youngest of them, You Fuzhu, was ten years older than Xie Chi, and with all the chaos in the Northern Domain Star, every city lord had clawed their way up through hardship and the harsh realities of life.

Yan Wanqiu said slowly: "Don't think about it so much, Xie Chi. You're just an ordinary person. You have no obligation to be responsible for the entire race. You just need to be yourself."

"Forget about the whole kingdom's survival crisis for a second. When you saw the Mechanical Civilization kill someone you knew today, how did you feel?"

Xie Chi said simply: "Angry, so I killed it."

Yan Wanqiu asked again: "And after the anger? How did you feel during the meeting?"

Xie Chi thought for a moment: "A bit helpless, because You Fuzhu could say he'd accompany you back to the main star, but I could only give some intel and couldn't help with anything else."

"I want to give you a peaceful life, not one on the run. Once war breaks out everywhere, there's nowhere left that's safe."

As he talked, he slowly worked it out in his own head.

There was no complex responsibility or grand racial cause—just starting from his own heart. He was angry at the Mechanical Civilization for slaughtering his friends, and frustrated that his revenge wasn't powerful enough.

And he didn't want himself and his wife to live amid the flames of war in the future.

Seeing that Xie Chi was already thinking it through on his own, Yan Wanqiu didn't say more. He didn't want to interfere too much with Xie Chi.

It was just that Xie Chi had been so distracted all afternoon that Yan Wanqiu couldn't rest easy without checking on him.

Xie Chi thought for a long while, then suddenly asked the man: "Babe, if I stay to help you, would you go to a safer planet first?"

Yan Wanqiu smiled softly.

He pulled his young lover into his arms and said with a low laugh: "No need. I'll always support your decisions and stand with you through thick and thin."

Xie Chi's face was buried in the man's chest, and he struggled out to breathe, his cheeks flushed red.

Yan Wanqiu couldn't resist and leaned down to bite him.

A tooth mark immediately appeared on Xie Chi's face. He covered it and whined: "You bit me again."

Yan Wanqiu chuckled and turned the blame around: "Who told you to invite me to bite you?"

Xie Chi was about to say he hadn't, when he saw the man slowly unbutton his pajamas.

Since he'd showered at Xie Chi's place, Yan Wanqiu had already removed the bandages in the bathroom. Now, as the pajamas slipped half off, everything spilled out.

A smile brimmed in Yan Wanqiu's narrow eyes as he looked at Xie Chi, who was covering his face and staring at him, stunned.

"Alright, now it's my turn to invite you."