Chapter 078. Reunited
Lin Yuan woke up with a start from his dreams fairly early in the morning. The strong anxiety that suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart made him distraught with anxiety.
The scene in the dream seemed to hint at something very bad. He dreamed about his dad leaving him and at this very moment, his father is leading troops out into a battle... This kind of bad dream makes Lin Yuan"s heart feel very unwell. He takes in a deep breath and wipes the cold sweat off his forehead before sitting up in his bed. Lin Yuan took out his communicator and sent a message to Rosen—
"Father, is this campaign still going well? I am awaiting your safe and sound return."
Like throwing a stone into the ocean and watching as it sinks down, there is no reply.
—He is probably busy at the moment and doesn"t have time to take notice of it? Perhaps he will reply after seeing it tomorrow.
After comforting himself like this, he lies back down on the bed and covers himself with the quilt, Lin Yuan still doesn"t feel the slightest bit tired.
This night, for Lin Yuan, time seems to have stretched on for ages......
***
For some people on the Capital Star, this night has become particularly unendurable.
Inside the Military Department"s secret meeting room, several officers were sitting there with grave expressions waiting for something. Finally, the spherical communicator in the middle of the table sent out a beam of light, indicating that it had received a message. The highest-ranked ciphertext was pa.s.sed through the cosmic s.p.a.ce stations from multiple galaxies. It smoothly transmitted to this communicator at last.
In front of the virtual screen, a string of strange golden characters gradually appeared. The complex ciphertext characters slowly drifted through the air like a golden chain. It wasn"t until a moment later that the pa.s.swords were deciphered by specialized software and the ciphertext finally became writing that they could read and understand—
"An unknown military force appeared on Naomi Star and suddenly launched an attack against the Federation"s Legions. The Federation"s Military Base on Naomi Star was seized. The Greedy Wolf Legion and the Falcon Legion urgently retreated. The Glory Legion entered and garrisoned Naomi Star and Rosen piloted Black Dragon into the Isville Cosmic Wormhole, whereabouts are unknown. The mysterious forces on Naomi Star also disappeared immediately after the Glory Legion entered and garrisoned. It is beyond my capabilities to investigate— K. "
The K letter at the end represents the ident.i.ty of the person who sent the message, this paragraph of text briefly gave an account of today"s battlefield situation.
After a moment of silence, the officer sitting in the first seat displeasedly pursed his brows and coldly said: "They"re indeed a pile of useless trash!"
A person to the side said in a serious tone: "The cooperation with the Federation"s Legions had very big risks from the start. However, this time we practically spoon-fed the Glory Legion directly up to their mouths. They were unable to seize such a good opportunity. They are really too disappointing— what exactly was Vladimir doing in the end? The place where he was stationed concealed a mysterious force and he was seriously not in the least aware of it?"
Another person thoughtfully said: "I am actually quite interested in that mysterious force. Unexpectedly in that critical moment, they emerged to secretly a.s.sist Rosen. Who could it possibly be? Could they have something to do with the Empire?"
The man sitting in the first seat bitterly smiled and said: "No matter who they are, any stumbling blocks that get in the way always have to be entirely disposed of to be sure."
The man took the communicator and quickly typed out a line of ciphertext characters back—
"Keep a close watch over the movement of the mysterious force on Naomi Star and find out the inside details of those people as soon as possible. Rosen has the message to immediately report back."
After the ciphertext was sent out, the person who questioned the origin of the mysterious force slightly narrowed his eyes and smiled as they said: "Rosen has always been a man of great fortune, but this time he has been met with the spatial shocks of the Isville Cosmic Wormhole, that is, even if he had ten lives, it"s time to make things clear. Can we consider whether......"
"Don"t be rash" The man sitting in the first seat lightly waved his hand and cut him off, "I don"t wish for any new branches to grow out of a knot. As soon as the news of Rosen"s death is confirmed, we will act again." After a pause, he turned his head around again and said, "Moreover, Udir suddenly transferred to Po Military Starfield and placed people in certain positions in the Rose Legion, did you find any valuable information?"
The other person immediately replied: "There is information to report. The Rose Legion"s medical team has recently hired a doctor named Charley. General Udir has been continuously unacclimatized after arriving at the Po Military Starfield. He had a high fever for several days in a row. He was being cared for by that doctor. He soon afterward asked that doctor to come to the Legion. Apart from this, everything in the Rose Legion is just as usual. Udir still took his Legion into a forest to try out a new type of mech all day long. During his free time, he just grows plants and flowers on Po Military Starfield. "
Inside the meeting room, fits of hushed laughter could be heard.
The man frowned: "Has the doctor"s inside information been checked?"
That person replied: "In the detailed investigation, there weren"t any problems. He is a very gentle-tempered doctor. He also keeps a very low-profile in the Legion."
The person nodded, saying in a low voice: "Make sure the planted agents in each of the major legions are careful and take precautions. They must not unmask their true nature by all means...... Alright, let"s adjourn this meeting."
With the man"s order, the simulation meeting room built through the network very quickly became desolate.
Inside a certain private apartment in the Capital Star, a young officer removed the earplugs that connected him to the virtual meeting room, the corners of his lips slightly perked up into a smile.
The unique navy blue military badge on his chest produces a strange radiance under the lighting inside the bedroom.
***
eta Ursae Majoris Starfield, the Rose Legion"s encampment.
Ling Feng was on his bed tossing and turning restlessly. Suddenly he heard a peal of knocking on the door. When he got up and opened the door, he saw Lieutenant Commander Lyrum of the Rose Legion"s Personal Guard Battalion standing at the doorway. When he saw him, he said in a deadly earnest voice: "Dr. Charley, sorry to bother you this late. The General suddenly has unbearable abdominal pain, please go over and have a look."
Ling Feng stared blankly for a moment and immediately turned around to pick up his medical kit, put on his white overcoat, and go to General Udir"s resting quarters.
Inside his bedroom, Udir was lying down on his bed, his complexion looked to be very pale, his wrinkled brows gave the appearance of great suffering. When he saw Ling Feng arrived, he said in a hoa.r.s.e voice: "Okay, Dr. Charley will stay here to properly attend to me, everyone else will withdraw."
"Understood, General." The group of his subordinates all withdrew back.
Only then did Ling Feng walk up to his bedside in three or two steps, gently reaching out his hand and probing his forehead, he asked in concern: "What"s going on with you? Do you feel ill?"
His slender fingers were suddenly held by that man, and the man lying down on his bed unexpectedly opened his eyes. His blue eyes were on the move and he looked at him with a beaming smile. Forget about falling ill, the man"s complexion appears exceedingly good, as soon as he turned over, he overpowered Ling Feng onto the bed and seized the opportunity to land a kiss.
Ling Feng was in a tough spot trying to dodge his kiss while saying helplessly: "Udir, you, you are pretending to be sick again...... mmm...... mmph......"
His jaw was pried open and his nimble tongue dove straight in, Ling Feng was soon out of breath from the kiss and was totally unable to say anything.
After the end of their French kiss, the clothes of the two men were disheveled and their heartbeats were also somewhat stalled. Udir only released Ling Feng then and licked the remaining saliva on the seams of Ling Feng"s lips off. Lightly stroking Ling Feng"s hair, he asked with a gentle and soft tone: "I noticed that you hadn"t gone to sleep, I was only looking for an excuse to call you over...... You look very restless, what happened?"
Ever since he took Ling Feng with him to the Rose Legion, Udir gave him a miniature mech s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton and the two people"s mechs were connected to one another, so Udir could know Ling Feng"s movements at all times to protect him at a moments notice.
Looking at Ling Feng"s appearance as his eyelashes slightly trembled, Udir couldn"t help but lean over and place a kiss on top of his eye, asking in a low voice: "What"s the matter? Can"t you tell me?"
Ling Feng was silent for a while before saying: "No, it"s nothing......"
The reason why Ling Feng was uneasy because of the telepathy shared between twins.
—He can perceive when Ling Yu is met with misfortune.
The connection with Ling Yu"s communicator was broken off and the message he sent out elicited no response. Even though his body was fine, there was still an inexplicable sharp pain. It must have come from his sensory perception of Ling Yu.
The occasional telepathy between the twin brothers was capable of allowing Ling Feng to sense when his brother was in the midst of danger and disaster.
Ling Feng was worried to the point of tossing and turning restlessly, making it hard to sleep all night long.
However, there is no way for him to let Udir know of the matter with Ling Yu. Even if Udir is his lover and Snow"s father, he cannot calmly speak out this mind-breaking secret. Ling Yu was hidden away in Naomi Star and secretly constructed an underground military base that involved His Majesty"s plan. If by any chance Udir"s philosophy is not in line with His Majesty"s, then the consequences of this secret being leaked out will only ruin the many years of preparation when it"s on the eve of complete success.
Deep in the depths of the body, another heart-wrenching pain came through. Ling Feng abruptly trembled and harshly bit down on his lower lip following it.
—Evidently, Ling Yu is in a lot of danger right now.
This kind of baffling pain is pa.s.sed on through the telepathy between twins, which makes Ling Feng also feel a sharp, difficult to endure pain.
After becoming aware of the man"s constant trembles in his embrace, Udir hurriedly hugged him close in distress, and unceasingly kissed him. His forehead, the tip of his nose and lips, tender kisses were rained down upon Ling Feng"s face. His deep and low voice also reverberated in his ears, "Don"t be afraid...... I am here, I won"t let you be met with misfortune again...... Have a little bit of confidence in me, alright?"
Ling Feng clenched his teeth. After a good while, he whispered: "Udir...... I......"
Udir looked distracted, "Huh?"
Ling Feng"s face went a bit red, he took the initiative to part his legs, reached over and wrapped his hands around his neck, quietly saying, "......hold me."
He finally had clearly heard what he was saying. Udir immediately peeled the man"s clothes off with the agile movements of his limbs. He further parted his legs and wrapped them around his waist. Without any trace of politeness...... he took as much of him as he liked.
Very soon, moans that would make one blush sounded from inside the bedroom.
As he was forgetting his worries from being invaded, Ling Feng thought in a trance...... Only in this way could he alleviate some of the uneasiness and the strange sharp pain in the bottom of his heart. Being tightly held in the embrace of Udir, he doesn"t feel that he is so isolated and helpless.
It"s so hot......
That place is so hot, where was this place in the end?
What has happened to his little brother......
***
Ling Feng"s sensory perception was just the same as Lin Yuan"s dreamland, Ling Yu had really been met with a mishap.
The moment he piloted Black Dragon into the cosmic wormhole, he felt an enormous pressure accompanying the overwhelmingly spread out mech fragments that advanced toward him, engulfing him. This kind of frightening cosmic vortex has even had formidable power that distorts the s.p.a.ce-time continuum. In the face of nature, let alone the S-Cla.s.s mechs manufactured by humanity, not even the large-scale command carrier of a Legion is able to take on the formidable power of the spatial shocks.
The field of vision before his eyes became blurred. Through the porthole of his mech, all the remains of the various s.p.a.ceships and warships in the wormhole could be seen. A large bulk of mechanical debris is mixed with the particles in the universe that whirls at devastating flying speed, the entire wormhole became a gigantic bottomless vortex— he couldn"t clearly see any path to follow inside the cosmic wormhole. He could only depend on intuition to let Black Dragon inch forward little by little.
Fortunately, the level and mental strength of Ling Yu"s mech piloting is extremely strong. He is able to skillfully operate the mech to avoid collision of a large number of bits and pieces. If another pilot took his place, they may have long-since been hit into tearing their body and crushing their bones in this place.
The wreckage of another large s.p.a.cecraft brushed past and if there was a direct collision, it would have definitely knocked the mech over going at such a fast speed.
Ling Yu did not dare to slack off in the slightest, there was a layer of sweat oozing from the palm of his hand.
The power of the s.p.a.ce vortex is getting more and more violent. Clearly, the level eight spatial shocks are coming soon, he must leave here as soon as possible!
But......
He is not willing!
He is not willing to just abandon Rosen like this!
As soon as he thought that the man together with his mech might have already been smashed into pieces, Ling Yu felt the pain of a knife being twisted in his heart!
Ling Yu tightly clenched into the hollow of his palm, having himself stay clear-headed and rational. The mental connection with the Black Dragon Replica has already exceeded 300% of its maximum matching capabilities, he can even feel everything that his own mech feel......
The debris and wreckage inside the wormhole unceasingly glance against the mech"s body, it was just like taking a knife and slashing it across his body! The Black Dragon Replica"s neural circuit had been continuously blaring an alarm and the equilibrium system was continuously flashing a red light even more! Ling Yu resisted the sharp pain of the nerves being cut and carefully examined the image being cast onto the screen—
Unfortunately, he only sees a large amount of debris and wreckage on the screen, there was not a single trace of Rosen and his mech.
Looking on as the spatial pressure in the wormhole grows greater and greater, Ling Yu a bit anxiously said: "Black Dragon, switch on the highest level detection system, broaden the sensing range by twofold! Quickly!"
The equilibrium system almost collapsed under repeated impacts. At this moment, turning on the most advanced detection system is undoubtedly a huge burden on the mech! However, perceiving the state of mind of its Master, Black Dragon complied with the order without the slightest hesitation. The highest level of detection system produced electromagnetic waves encompa.s.sing a radius within the range of 100 kilometers. a moment after, Black Dragon said in a low voice: "Master, still not detected."
—At that moment, Ling Yu suddenly felt despair.
He previously led his troops on campaigns countless times. He had previously faced life and death crises countless times, but he had never once despaired.
Could it be that...... Rosen has truly already......
Died?
That indifferent and as well as unyielding man who spent a decade of his youth together with him......
He has already died?
This kind of realization caused a sudden burst of stabbing pain at the bottom of Ling Yu"s heart. It was like a pair of hands were forcibly tearing a huge hole open in his heart. It felt like a biting cold wind was violently blowing into his chest, cutting his internal organs, nearly breaking his entire heart into pieces.
Rosen......
Xiao Yuan......
Just when he was so aggrieved that the rims of his eyes were bursting with heat, Black Dragon"s eyes suddenly lit up. "Master, I"ve found the traces of an S-Cla.s.s mech up ahead!"
Ling Yu froze in shock and immediately ordered: "Approach the target right away!"
***
While the replica body sensed the presence of Black Dragon, the Black Dragon up ahead also sensed the presence of this mech.
Rosen noticed this bit and looked at the monitor screen in a bit of shock.
In the vortex of this cosmic wormhole formed by a large amount of debris and airborne dust, a black mech suddenly broke through layer upon layer of the surrounding s.p.a.ce and rushed straight toward his position!
An enormous black dragon, the golden pupils of its eyes, even if it is beaten black and blue by numerous wreckage and debris, it"s grandeur still shines brightly like a rainbow!
—Is this the replica body of Black Dragon?
Rosen"s mind suddenly became blank. The name of that man was sitting on his lips however he simply couldn"t believe it...... The
Ling Yu......
Is it Ling Yu?
As soon as that black mech came to his side, the spatial shocks were on the eve of arriving, the s.p.a.ce inside the cosmic wormhole became increasingly narrow, and the tremendous pressure is nearly about to crush everything inside it into smithereens—
It"s now or never!
Like the hearts of the two were connected, the two S-Cla.s.s mechs simultaneously activated the highest level attack system!
Boom—!
The two S-Cla.s.s mechs fired giant light energy cannons at the same time, and all the residual debris and remnants in the entirety of the wormhole were blasted into the distance. Through the force of this extensive recoil, the two mechs immediately executed a s.p.a.ce jump and forcibly broke through the pressure of the wormhole"s airflow!
A small spatial gap was torn open in the cosmic wormhole, and the immense pressure caused the surrounding s.p.a.ce to begin to frantically compress and warp!
"......be careful!"
Rosen"s heart almost came to a complete stop!
He successfully piloted Black Dragon out of the wormhole, but that black mech, however, was still in the heart of the wormhole. Obviously, the equilibrium system of the replica body was affected and did not jump out in the first moments. The tremendous pressure caused by the two mech"s forcible breakthroughs in the cosmic wormhole was enough to destroy everything!
Rosen tightly clenched his hand into a fist and immediately wished he could throw himself over to rescue that person!
However, right at that moment, a small escape pod suddenly ejected out from the wormhole and rapidly fell into the boundless universe. Rosen reacted and immediately had Black Dragon fly over toward the escape pod! Black Dragon caught up to the rapidly falling escape pod using its highest speed. It exhilaratingly used its tail to wrap around it before the escape pod collided with the drifting wreckage of the warships in the cosmos!
"......" Rosen"s heart almost came to a standstill, the palm of his hand has long ago been exuding a layer of cold sweat. Seeing Black Dragon rescue the escape pod, he immediately ordered: "Black Dragon, quickly check and see if there are any signs of life in the escape pod!"
Black Dragon conducted a simple scan of the escape pod it rescued and replied: "Master, the person in this escape pod has lost consciousness, the oxygen inside can still support for half an hour."
Rosen slightly relaxed, "Try to find a place to land!"
"Understood."
Black Dragon automatically searched for a planet in its surroundings to land on. After a while, an unfamiliar planet appears on the screen in front of it, that planet was surrounded by a light green radiance. In the vast and obscure universe, it looks like a beautiful green agate.
Rosen wondered aloud: "Where is this?"
Black Dragon carefully searched the database and answered in a low voice: "Master, we seem to have been thrown into an unknown galaxy by the Isville Cosmic Wormhole. The coordinates here are unable to be categorized by any known galaxies in the Empire"s domain. There are also no descriptions whatsoever of this planet"s existence."
Rosen: "......"
After being silent for a moment, Rosen looked at the sealed escape pod that Black Dragon had curled its tail around and said in a near whisper: "Land first and we"ll worry about the rest later."
***
Black Dragon along with its master and rescued escape pod landed on this unknown planet.
The coverage of green foliage on this planet is extremely high, there are lush forests everywhere, and the oxygen content in the air is also very high.
Because there was no human habitation, there weren"t any buildings constructed by mankind here. Although the whole planet is densely forested, it still looks especially desolate. Standing on the planet, you can see the starry sky of the boundless cosmos above your head. The beautiful meteor shower glides through the sky and all kinds of stars in the sky twinkle and shine. This scene of a purely natural starry sky is probably a beautiful sight many people who live on the Capital Star would like to see.
However, Rosen was not in the mood to enjoy the sight of this so-called starry sky.
As soon as Black Dragon reached the ground, he immediately had Black Dragon set the control cabin down. He quickly ran over to that small escape pod.
The escape pod inside mechs is only used as a last resort in any given situation, especially for S-Cla.s.s mechs......
The pilot of an S-Cla.s.s mech connects to the nerve pathways of the mech to achieve the state of man and machine as one. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the master will not abandon their S-Cla.s.s mech. It is only when they have no other alternative at the time but to use the escape pod to flee.
It is thus clear that while the mech that was trapped by the terrible pressure of the wormhole, it already had no way to safely escape due to the malfunction of its equilibrium system. Perhaps it was in order to protect its Master that it then used the force of the backlash to shoot the escape pod out......
In other words, that mech has already......
Thinking of the thrilling scene just now, Rosen only felt a throbbing in his heart.
The special metal of the escape pod can resist the extremely high temperatures and pressures for a short period of time. At this moment, the outer layer of metal on the escape pod has already been burned into warping its shape and it is scorched black all over. One could well imagine how dreadful the blazing temperatures were at that time, they may have been burned to ashes had they stayed a few seconds longer.
Rosen took in a deep breath and walked ahead. He had Black Dragon open up the cover of the escape pod.
In that split second, he had even felt his own heart cease to beat—
Peering into the escape pod, he saw a man with distinctly handsome looks curled up into a ball with his eyes tightly shut. His long and thick eyelashes cast a faint shadow on his eyelids. He had overloaded his mind when piloting the mech just a moment ago. He had clearly been excessively sweating. The clothes on his body were all soaked in sweat, and the jet-black ends of his hair were still dripping water down. His delicate and pretty face was as pale as paper and his lips had also completely lost their color.
He was still wearing a military uniform from head to toe, the dark blue military uniform made his figure look well proportioned and slender, his black leather belt accentuated the contours of his lean and perfectly curved waist, and his perfectly straight legs were tightly drawn up.
The helpless appearance of the man curled up with his eyes closed laying down in the escape pod broke through the solid defensive line of Rosen"s heart in a flash.
The dark blue badge on his chest, the crescent-shaped marking is familiar enough to make one nearly wish to shed tears.
It was as if nothing had changed at all......
It was as if he was still that indifferent and proud young General of the Dark Night Legion......
Rosen"s fingers lightly shook as he slowly caressed that man"s face. The warming sensation when his fingertips came in contact with his skin finally allowed him to confirm— this is not a dream.
He is really seeing him......
Reuniting after being apart for 19 years, the unknown planet, his unconscious love, at this moment, any words he thinks to encapsulate his feelings are too bland and lifeless.
There are thousands of words to be said, yet in the end, only two words came out—
"Ling Yu......"
For more than a decade, he had countlessly called this name over and over again his dreams, and now he can speak it out in his presence at last.
His rough voice contained too many emotions, and even Rosen himself didn"t know how to confront the person in front of him in the end.
Just looking at his unconscious appearance, an intensely strong feeling of distress still prevailed over everything.
Rosen stooped down and with the gentlest actions, carefully took the man out of the escape pod and softly lifted him up in his arms.
(TN: I can already hear it, ah! "Why did you take so long?" I was busy okay! (Binge-watching Guardian lmao, 34 episodes in four (five?) days during school and everything.) That"s my excuse, it"s not a good one lmao but it"s what I got. Begging for forgiveness! Anyways, here we go! We just need Ling Yu to wake up now...)