Midnight, Capital Academy of Sciences.
Although it is called the Academy of Sciences, it actually covers a large area. It is built on a huge island, surrounded by seawater, and can almost be called a country within a country. In addition to the capital's outer military defense system, an independent defense system from the capital's main brain was also built inside. In fact, the safety factor is even higher than that of the imperial palace.
The Academy of Sciences is divided into different areas according to different specialties. Almost all of Hengyunxing's new technologies and scientific research projects are incubated here. In this special period, targeted drugs for parasitic diseases are also being intensively developed here.
As a special injured person, He Zhun should have been detained somewhere else. However, because he had been in the Stigmata Research Institute of the Phantom God Cult and had extremely outstanding professional abilities, Pei Changyun ordered him to be secretly detained in the Academy of Sciences.
However, He Zhun is not participating in the development of targeted drugs, nor has he entered any professional laboratory. After being asked about some information about the stigmata, he has been locked up.
But the treatment was good. Three meals a day were delivered on time. They were not just nutrient solution but food cooked by a private chef. He also had regular physical examinations and treatments. But he was cut off from everything outside, and no one told him how long he would be locked up here.
Crash...
The young man's pale finger bones turned over a brand new page of the book, his fingertips skimmed over the dense professional vocabulary, and finally landed on a string of genetic codons.
—Something went wrong here.
He Zhun picked up a pen, circled the typo in the middle, and made revision notes next to it. During the month when the First Corps returned and the month when he was detained in the Academy of Sciences, he was revising the book. His originally anxious mood gradually calmed down during the reading process.
This book is a basic medical textbook with very lengthy content. He Zhun spent almost all of his time revising it, and it took him two months to barely complete the first round of revisions.
—This is a book compiled by his father.
It was given to him by Zhou Jiuya.
On the first night of his capture, the commander of the Imperial First Legion came in person to apologize to him.
[I'm sorry I was late that night.]
[It’s just that you were too young at the time, and you said you don’t remember anything.]
He Zhun was still alive, but he had no memory of his dead family members or the bloody hatred. This was the only lucky thing in the eyes of everyone at the time.
Not remembering painful memories means not having to bear the burden, and means he can start over.
Everyone thought that the young He Zhun didn't remember it, so no one mentioned it again.
He Zhun was raised in the Jiang family. After Jiang Jinsheng's death, his guardianship was transferred to Zhou Jiuya along with Jiang Ci. According to Jiang Jinsheng's plan, He Zhun should have been well protected and raised in the safest greenhouse just like Jiang Ci.
But no one knew that the child lied and hid it so well. Later, one person took revenge in secret and eventually it came to this point.
[This is the textbook manuscript that your father sent to a medical school. It has not been revised yet. I found the electronic version here and just asked the logistics department to print it out. There are some other old things, but they are all placed in Hengyun Star.]
Zhou Jiuya handed He Zhun a book.
[… Thanks.]
He Zhun took the book.
At that time, He Qichu changed his real name to Zhao and was a skilled doctor. He once treated a patient who was sentenced to death by the Capital Hospital. He suddenly became famous and was even contacted by a medical school to invite him to compile new textbooks together.
But later, the political purge led to Dr. Zhao being labeled a spy, slandered and stigmatized. Naturally, the medical school did not dare to use the textbooks he compiled, let alone proofread and revise them, and even concealed the matter directly.
This manuscript, which had not been proofread, was now ordered by Zhou Jiuya to be completed and then sent to He Zhun.
Unlike Jiang Ci, who could not remember what his father looked like, He Zhun had all the details of his childhood clearly engraved in his mind, and he would recall them countless times every day to prevent himself from forgetting. When his father compiled this textbook, He Zhun remembered that he could only understand the words in the catalog, but he had no idea what they meant. But now, he can revise every detail and even add or delete content.
only…
The young man paused with his pen and frowned slightly.
He read it again from the beginning and found some strange mistakes in the annotations. Also, the arrangement of the content and the detailed treatment of certain professional knowledge were somewhat unreasonable.
In fact, this is a very normal phenomenon in textbook compilation. The first edition usually has many problems. Even the content compiled by the most professional scholars has to go through layers of revisions before it can be published.
But the only unreasonable thing is that some of these mistakes are too basic. And the order of the catalog is slightly different from He Zhun's memory.
—That’s not right.
He Zhun was sure that something was wrong. He looked through it again, thought for a moment, and immediately pressed the call bell. A few minutes later, the caregiver came in.
"Hello, Mr. Xiao He, is there anything I can help you with?"
The soundproofing here is very good, but the moment the door opened, He Zhun keenly heard the sound of warships flying outside. The Academy of Sciences generally does not allow the military to enter unless there is an emergency martial law.
Emergency martial law in the capital
The young man's face darkened.
Something must have happened outside!
But He Zhun couldn't leave, nor could he get more information about the outside world, so at this moment he just smiled and said to the other party,
"I want a light computer, one that doesn't have an internet connection."
He Zhun has a handsome and modest appearance. When he smiles, he is very friendly and makes people feel less defensive. At this time, the young man picked up the thick professional book in his hand, showing a helpless and distressed look.
"The commander asked me to help proofread and revise this book, saying it might be helpful for special medicines, but it's too thick, and it's too slow for the human brain to process it, so..."
The caregiver was a little embarrassed, but nodded.
"Okay, I'll apply."
Boom.
The door is closed.
The smile on He Zhun's face faded, and he sat expressionlessly on the table, flipping through the pages one by one. At the same time, he also turned out all his memories, searching for every detail one by one.
Ten minutes later, the caregiver brought a brand new computer. It couldn't connect to the Internet, and it had a monitoring device installed inside.
"Thank you. You've worked hard."
He Zhun smiled and thanked him.
He understood the other party's distrust of him, but his goal had been achieved. He just needed an optical computer to help recompile the textbook.
At the same time, the Nine Crows outside the Academy of Sciences also hung up the communication simultaneously.
"Master Legion Commander, is it really okay to give him a light brain?"
The adjutant's tone was worried.
"You clearly didn't mention the manuscript..."
Zhou Jiuya raised his hand and waved, and Li Ya fell silent.
"It doesn't matter. Just keep an eye on him. All the old things left by He Qichu have been carefully checked, including the textbook manuscript sent to the medical school. Later, many medical experts were consulted to identify it. The final conclusion was that apart from some normal typos, there was no problem. It was just a simple basic medical textbook."
As for all other information about the Phantom God Cult, He Qichu took the initiative to destroy it in order to hide his identity. He even had plastic surgery on his face and body in order to hide.
If it wasn't for curing Jiang Ci, He Qichu would not have been found out with his intelligence. As for the treatment of Jiang Ci, according to the agreement between He Qichu and Jiang Jinsheng, it was a top secret between them, and only He Qichu knew the treatment process. Because once it was exposed, the Phantom God Church would hunt him down at all costs.
But the final result was exactly as the man expected.
Zhou Jiuya closed his eyes and suppressed the distant memories. He strode out of the Academy of Sciences with a gloomy face.
"I'm going to the palace now. You stay here."
"yes!"
The adjutant stood solemnly, watching General Wan transform into a line of meteors in the brilliant snow light and head straight for the imperial palace.
An hour later, Zhou Jiuya strode down the helipad of the palace. The female official had been waiting downstairs with a group of people.
"Mr. Legion Commander,"
The female official lowered her eyes respectfully.
"The young master has fallen asleep in his room. His Majesty said the palace is not safe, so please take him to the Academy of Sciences."
"Um."
Zhou Jiuya did not stop and walked towards the familiar place with ease.
Compared to the huge and empty Jiang family, Jiang Ci liked the palace more when he was a child. Because there were many people here to accompany him. The gentle Uncle Changyun was closer to him than the serious and upright Zhou Jiuya. Therefore, there was a special room for him in the palace.
Wow!
Zhou Jiuya pushed the door open and walked in, his originally fast steps suddenly slowing down.
Jiang Ci fell asleep on the workbench, with an empty cup next to him, and some unfinished milk in it. The huge light computer screen in front of him was still rapidly shuttling countless complicated code data streams. Nora was standing by and had just covered him with a blanket.
Zhou Jiuya walked over slowly and stood at a position not too far away, because the Zerg girl was staring at him coldly.
“It’s not safe here,”
The man spoke softly.
"I'll take him away to a safe place."
"… "
Nora stared at him for a few seconds, her dark purple pupils dilated slightly, as if she had received some signal, so she blinked slowly and took a step aside.
Zhou Jiuya was finally able to step forward, and only then did he see Jiang Ci's face, with a slightly furrowed brow, sleeping uneasily, as if he had a nightmare when he was a child. The legion commander was silent for a few seconds, then reached out and wrapped him carefully with a blanket, then picked him up horizontally and strode out the door.
Nora followed closely behind.
"Well… "
Jiang Ci could feel that someone seemed to be carrying her away, but her brain was in a mess and her eyelids were heavy and she couldn't open them.
Because of years of training and treatment, as well as the use of inhibitors, Jiang Ci often comes into contact with sedatives, so he can clearly distinguish between sleepiness during pregnancy and drug-induced sleepiness. The gradual drug resistance in his body allows him to retain a trace of consciousness while sleeping. This feeling is like being paralyzed by a ghost, and he is still conscious, but he just can't wake up.
Something is wrong... Everything is wrong...
Wake up... You have to wake up immediately...
Jiang Ci felt as if she had sunk into the deep sea. All perceptions of time and space were infinitely reduced or even erased.
He seemed to see many, many faces.
First, there was He Zhun sitting on the hospital bed.
[The Pope must have some greater use for keeping Cecilia.]
[The biggest threat to the Pope is Huo Xianfeng first, and Pei Changyun second. Who do you think he will attack first?]
Then it was Huo Xianfeng. His face was dim and unclear, as if he was about to disappear into the darkness.
[Aci, Pei Changyun is hiding something from me.]
[Now that Huo Chao is dead, the only person I can trust is you.]
Finally, it’s father.
It was the father whose face had become blurred in Jiang Ci's memory.
In fact, there are many photos of Jiang Jinsheng at home, and even in many magazines, biographies of great men, and even history books, there are photos of Jiang Jinsheng.
But Jiang Ci couldn't remember that man's face no matter what. But at this moment, her father's face finally became clear. He had handsome eyebrows, and his red eyes were filled with a special tenderness, like the last spark of fire that was about to go out in the broken ashes.
The father touched the child's head and said to him,
[Aci, if you can't become good friends with Brother He Zhun, then you can only solve this code game by yourself.]
Then, the stubborn Jiang Ci locked herself up and solved the code game, but also missed the passing of that person.
Buzz—
Jiang Ci's silver eyelashes trembled rapidly, and he suddenly opened his eyes. He struggled to sit up, breathing heavily, with cold sweat on his forehead, as if he had finally escaped from some terrible nightmare.
"you… "
Jiang Ci heard a familiar voice and turned back suddenly. His eyes were sharp for a moment, but when his gaze met the familiar face, he was suddenly stunned again.
—It’s Doctor Wen.
"You're awake... Ci?"
Jiang Ci didn't answer. He looked at the other person intently, not missing the surprise and nervousness on Dr. Wen's face. He quickly scanned the surrounding environment.
At this time, Nora found that he was awake, and immediately came over to rub Jiang Ci's palm affectionately. This action made Jiang Ci feel a little relieved. He looked up at Wen Xubai, his voice hoarse after the nightmare,
"Where is this?"
This is not a palace.
It seemed that he didn't expect him to wake up so soon. Doctor Wen was quickly organizing his words to comfort him.
"You are too tired, Aci, take a good rest now."
"… "
Jiang Ci was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke,
"Nora, help me open the windows and curtains."
A few seconds later, followed by a "swish" sound, dazzling sunlight poured in, causing Jiang Ci to reflexively cover her eyes with her hands and close her eyes.
A breeze, carrying the moist scent of sea water, drifted in from outside.
Jiang Ci was stunned for a few seconds and immediately realized that this was the Academy of Sciences and it was already daybreak, which meant that he had slept all night, and Huo Xianfeng should have also stayed in the palace all night and had not returned yet.
Jiang Ci immediately took out Bai Ze,
"Contact Jinyuan."
After a few seconds, Bai Ze said in a serious tone,
"Aci, Chang Meng has activated the signal blocking and cannot contact us."
"… "
Jiang Ci closed her eyes and turned to ask Nora,
"Can you contact Huo Xianfeng?"
"… "
Nora shook her head.
Jiang Ci pursed her lips and asked carefully,
"When did we lose contact?"
"last night."
"what did he say?"
"We must protect Huahua."
"… "
After receiving this reply, Jiang Ci said nothing and asked no more questions. She immediately got up from the bed and walked out.
The situation was very clear. When Zhao He brought a group of people to find them last night, it was not to discuss anything or to assist in deciphering the chip. The fundamental purpose was to allow Huo Xianfeng to enter the palace, and Jiang Ci had to stay in the Academy of Sciences.
What kind of situation would make the emperor want to separate the two of them
What was it that had to have Cecilia present for the three of them to discuss
What could have happened that could make Huo Xianfeng stay in the palace for a whole night? Not only did he not come to see him for such a long time, but even the connection with the Zerg mental network was cut off
When Huo Xianfeng said Pei Changyun was hiding something from them, Jiang Ci had a worst-case scenario that the church might alienate them. But according to Jiang Ci's understanding of Pei Changyun over the years, His Majesty the Emperor was not someone who could be easily provoked.
But the current situation makes him feel very uneasy.
Very, very uneasy.
At least this deceptive behavior and Huo Xianfeng's loss of contact have made Jiang Ci unable to remain calm.
"Wait! Wait, Aci!"
Doctor Wen tried to stop him.
"This is His Majesty's order. The palace is not safe. You need to stay here now..."
"Step aside!"
This was the first time Jiang Ci spoke to Dr. Wen in such a cold tone.
"… "
Wen Xubai was shocked.
Click!
The door opened and Zhou Jiuya came in.
"Calm down, Jiang Ci."
The alpha's majestic voice made Jiang Ci turn his head, but he did not feel afraid or back down because of the other party's appearance. Instead, he raised his head and looked over coldly.
"I want to go back to the palace to see him."
"no."
Zhou Jiuya's tall figure stood at the door.
"Now is not the time. You have to wait a little longer. I promise you will see him."
"… "
Jiang Ci stared at him for a few seconds and said softly,
"What if I say no?"
Jiang Ci had been cheated by his father once, and he absolutely did not want to experience this kind of thing a second time, even as a protected person.
Zhou Jiuya had no expression on his face, but his slightly bulging cheeks showed that he was clenching his back teeth. A few seconds later, the legion commander's eyes were cold and his voice was majestic, scolding,
"Jiang Ci, this is an order!" "...An order?"
Jiang Ci took a step back.
He deliberately changed into a military uniform when he went to the palace, and he was still wearing it. The next second, he tore off the badge representing the major general in front of Zhou Jiuya and threw it at Zhou Jiuya's feet.
He said coldly,
"Then you can expel me from the army now."
"Jiang Ci, you...!"
Zhou Jiuya was extremely angry, but before he could finish his words, Jiang Ci pulled out the Bai Ze pendant, transformed it into a spear and stabbed the window with one blow.
Snapped!
The sound of shattering glass instantly echoed throughout the room. Zhou Jiuya's face changed, and he immediately went forward to catch him. At this moment, Jiang Ci turned over and jumped out of the window.
"Nora, hold him down!"
"Varied… "
The man's pupils dilated, reflecting the oncoming punch.
boom!
The Zerg quickly gained a unilateral advantage, and Zhou Jiuya could only barely use his ten thousand generals to resist. His eyes glanced at the window, and his face was extremely ugly.
“Shit—”
Zhou Jiuya didn't expect Jiang Ci to wake up early, otherwise he should have taken Bai Ze away. But now it's too late, he can only make up for it.
"General Wan, order an immediate emergency control of the airspace above the Academy of Sciences to capture Jiang Ci, but no one is allowed to use any lethal thermal weapons."
"yes."
On the other side, Jiang Ci jumped out of the window, inserted his spear into the wall, and slid down. Just as he was about to deploy his mecha to force his way out, Xiao X's voice suddenly rang out.
"Aci, I received the ASX signal!"
Jiang Ci was suddenly stunned.
—That’s He Zhun.
One month after the kidnapping, He Zhun came back. Jiang Ci hugged that man and cried bitterly, and vowed to protect him well in the future. So before making Xiao X into a mecha, he first made a super signal transmitter for He Zhun.
[He Zhun, next time you are in danger, just press this button and I will come to you no matter where you are.]
This was the first time He Zhun had used it in all these years. Even when the other party fell from a height of 10,000 meters in the broken lifeboat, he had not used it. This meant that the current situation was worse than it was then.
Jiang Ci gritted her teeth and asked,
"where?!"
Xiao X quickly exported the route map.
"Very close, turn left a hundred meters ahead and go down."
Jiang Ci did not hesitate, and immediately turned his head. He quickly took off his military uniform jacket and threw it in the opposite direction. Then he turned over and sneaked into a room, put on a white coat, and put on the most stringent protective clothing to cover his face. Now is the time of the outbreak of parasitic diseases, so this kind of dress is not conspicuous.
Perhaps because she had followed Huo Xianfeng to sneak into Baigu City once, Jiang Ci was very skilled at this kind of thing.
Zhou Jiuya thought Jiang Ci would go to the palace immediately, so the guards who were searching headed towards the exit. However, at this time, Jiang Ci had already gone in the opposite direction, towards He Zhun's position.
At this time, the young man was looking at the dense words on the optical computer while wrapping the wound on his elbow with a torn cloth. He sewed the signal transmitter given by Jiang Ci into the flesh on the inside of his elbow and made a biological cover, so that no matter whether he was in the Illusion God Cult or captured by the First Legion, any machine scan would not find any abnormality.
drop-
It was the sound of a door opening. It was not time to deliver food, so He Zhun turned off his computer reflexively. However, when he turned around, he met a pair of familiar eyes.
The two looked at each other for three seconds without saying anything. Then He Zhun quickly stepped forward and helped Jiang Ci drag the two unconscious guards at the door in.
Boom—
The door is closed.
He Zhun didn't wait for Jiang Ci to ask, nor did he ask why Jiang Ci was dressed like that and why she appeared here so quickly. He directly took out his computer, opened it, and showed him the things that had been rearranged inside.
"To make a long story short, this is the message my father left behind. Time was tight, so I only managed to get the first half, but it's too late, so I can only tell you right away."
All the errors in the manuscript are hints for rearrangement.
According to the prompts, He Zhun eliminated a large amount of redundant content, rearranged the key information, and obtained some key intelligence left by He Qichu.
He Zhun skipped the professional knowledge in between and went straight to telling Jiang Ci the conclusion.
"The neural fluid extracted from Huo Xianfeng was injected into Huo Chao's body. This injection was different from the way other believers fed the stigmata. Instead of feeding the stigmata, it was injected directly into Huo Chao's brain. So this is why Huo Chao's appearance and strength gradually approached Huo Xianfeng's. In other words, he was sucking the life out of Huo Xianfeng."
"The Pope's plan is not to use Huo Chao to create a god, nor is he to treat Huo Chao as a beloved child. Huo Chao is just his tool. That person's goal is to replace the King Bug through Huo Chao, so as to achieve the goal of plundering the entire Zerg race."
He Zhun spoke very quickly, but every word was clear.
"The reason why it was passed through Huo Chao is that the holy marks that the Pope can control cannot invade the body of the Zerg, and can only control humans. Other humans cannot accept the nerve fluid of the King Bug, only Huo Chao can. So Huo Chao is the so-called Son of God. As for your mother Bai Min, she was chosen to be the mother of the next Huo Chao just because of her superior genes."
He Zhun grabbed Jiang Ci's hand, his eyes solemn.
"Jiang Ci, has Huo Xianfeng ever told you about the degeneration of the Zerg?"
"… "
Jiang Ci's lips trembled slightly, but she still nodded.
"Well, I don't need to explain this to you. Anyway, Marshal Huo Chao asked my father to find a way to reverse this process. Then they spent a long time looking for a solution."
He Zhun pointed at the red-marked clip in the optical computer.
"You probably don't understand the specific reversal principle. Let me give you an example. The original relationship between Huo Chao and Huo Xianfeng was parasitic. He absorbed Huo Xianfeng's power, so the latter would die. If you want to reverse this process, you have to do it the other way around. Do you understand?"
"… in turn?"
"Yes! In reverse. But the process is much more complicated than this, and Huo Chao alone is not enough."
He Zhun shook his head gently
"Aci, do you know why the only high-level Zerg you saw were Huo Xianfeng and the little girl next to you?"
"Why?"
"—because most of them were sacrificed to the king."
"… "
Jiang Ci suddenly stopped. But He Zhun did not stop. He looked very nervous, but he tried hard to stay calm.
"The reason why Huo Xianfeng started out in human form is because he hasn't completely digested the Huo Chao part, so when Huo Xianfeng completely gets his own power back, the Huo Chao part will be completely eliminated."
"But this process is not yet complete, so theoretically, Huo Chao is still parasitic on him. This is Huo Xianfeng's only weakness now. Ah Ci, they are growing stronger while the other is losing. Huo Chao must die before Huo Xianfeng can live."
He Zhun took a deep breath.
"So based on this information, I speculate that the Illusion God Cult's clones may be a sleight of hand, or a political attack. Their real trump card is to let Huo Chao replace the King Bug again. You know, Huo Chao is also Pei Changyun's Achilles' heel. This way, they can both alienate him and kill two birds with one stone..."
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Ci suddenly stood up and staggered back a step.
"He... He Zhun, thank you, no, I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Aci?"
He Zhun was stunned. Then he suddenly realized,
Jiang Ci arrived just a few minutes after he sent out the signal, saying that the other party was already here and sneaked in. Also, Jiang Ci was obviously pregnant, so why wasn't Huo Xianfeng by his side
He rushed forward, grabbed Jiang Ci's hand and pulled her back.
"Wait, Aci, calm down first."
He Zhun wanted to ask something but suddenly noticed the other person's attire.
“This protective suit…”
Because He Zhun was imprisoned, he knew nothing about the transmission route, clinical symptoms, and other information except the outbreak of the disease. But it was obvious that the parasitic disease that broke out on Hengyun Star was a derivative of the stigmata.
The believers need a professional syringe to inject the stigmata directly into the heart, but if it is to break out into an epidemic, then a simpler way of transmission must be chosen, and the special protective suit on Jiang Ci is enough to read a lot of things...
"Aci, don't leave in a hurry. Calm down first. Let me ask you a few questions. Are parasitic infections currently transmitted through contact, food, water, air, blood, and body fluids?"
"Except air, everything else...everything else."
This affirmative answer immediately made He Zhun's face look ugly. He continued to ask,
"Then... Then you said before that His Majesty killed Marshal Huo Chao's clone, so did he...did he get splashed with blood? Or did others, people close to him, get splashed with blood?"
"… "
Jiang Ci was suddenly stunned.
"Yes... yes, a lot."
very many.
When a person's head is chopped off, the blood spurting from the artery can reach several meters. Pei Changyun was almost bathed in blood that day. And... Huo Xianfeng, who was standing next to him, was also splashed.
Jiang Ci's face turned pale, and he felt a chill running up his spine like an electric current.
"So that's how it is..."
He Zhun closed his eyes.
—So that’s how it is.
He had always thought that Huo Chao's clone would never be that simple, but the result turned out to be like this...
Who could have thought that the clones that the Phantom God Cult had spent so much effort and trouble to create would only be put to use when they were killed.
He Zhun took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.
"-he knows."
Jiang Ci's voice dropped to a freezing point.
"He told me that the palace is dangerous."
"… "
He Zhun was silent. But before he could think of a response, Jiang Ci suddenly pushed his hand away.
"He Zhun, I'm sorry, I have something else to do."
He Zhun failed to hold him back.
"Aci!"
But Jiang Ci could no longer hear him.
If he had trusted his uncle Changyun before, he would never do such a despicable thing. But it would be different if that person had a stigmata in his body.
If Huo Chao survives, Huo Xianfeng will die.
This is the only weakness of the powerful king.
And now, this weakness has been seized by those people.
Jiang Ci ran into several guards who were searching for him and knocked them out without hesitation. Just then he heard footsteps running behind him.
"Aci, the Academy of Sciences has blocked..."
He Zhun was panting heavily. It was obvious that keeping up with Jiang Ci was a great burden for him.
"You know, even Bai Ze would have a hard time breaking the defensive barrier from the inside, not to mention the air blockade. And you're facing off against imperial soldiers. If you're not careful in the battle, people will die."
"… "
Jiang Ci looked up at him, and after a few seconds of silence, she said firmly,
"You have a way!"
After all, He Zhun has worked here for nine years and has a high rank and status, so he must know some secret ways.
The young man panted and laughed, then stretched out his hand.
"Call He Zhun brother, I'll think about it."
"… "
Jiang Ci slapped his hand away.
"Wait until you really take me out."
"Okay, I recorded it."
"… "
Ten minutes later, the two appeared in He Zhun's original office. Under the table was an alpha who was tied up and knocked unconscious.
This is the rival of He Zhun mentioned by Jiang Ci before, named Wei Jun. After He Zhun got into trouble, the other party took his place.
Jiang Ci stared at the bruised alpha on the ground for a few seconds, wiped his hands carefully with disinfectant, and showed a bit of disgust. He couldn't stand the smell of other alphas now.
"… He Zhun, are you sure this isn't a personal vendetta?"
"of course not."
He Zhun's tone was firm. He found the other party's identity key and some things that looked useful and took them all away, even carrying a big bag.
"Researchers of this level will have a secret key that they can use to enter the underground escape passage in an emergency. It leads all the way to the bottom of the sea, and is the only place that will not be blocked by the defensive barrier. However, once it is opened, the central brain of the academy will find it."
He Zhun connected the silver ring to the interface in the office that connected to the main brain, and said in a gentle tone,
"I can only ask our little X to help hold you back for five minutes."
Jiang Ci did not stop him and just nodded to Xiao X.
Xiao X: "Guarantee... guarantee to complete the task!!!"
drop-
After He Zhun pressed the secret key, the smooth wall on the side suddenly opened. He turned back to look at Jiang Ci,
"Let's go, Aci, we only have five minutes."
When the two of them secretly left the Academy of Sciences, Zhou Jiuya was still pinned to the ground by Nora.
Nora first ate in Mingcheng for three months, and then was well fed by Jiang Ci in Jiang's house for another month. She was no longer the weak bug that could be beaten away by Cecilia.
She is very strong now, at least she can hold Zhou Jiuya down with one hand without any problem.
So, even when the legion commander unfolded the mecha, Nora followed him into the cockpit because they were too close, so she continued to hold him down on the floor of the cockpit.
The power of the Zerg is directly matched by the mecha, and no matter how powerful the alpha is, it cannot have the same power as the mecha. This has led to the situation where the legion commander cannot resist and is pinned to the ground by the little girl.
General Wan was silent.
It thought for a long time and finally came up with something to comfort its owner.
"Well, Xiaojiu, it's okay. Although this girl is not an omega, let alone a human, think about it. This is also a good opportunity to interact with the opposite sex."
Zhou Jiuya: “…”
That’s a good comfort. Don’t speak next time.
The legion commander closed his eyes for a while, and finally spoke.
"Get Ye Shu for me, and then contact Chang Meng."
"yes."
On the other hand, Jiang Ci, who had successfully escaped from the Academy of Sciences, was intercepted outside. Because the entire capital was under complete martial law, it was impossible to quietly go from the Academy of Sciences to the Imperial Palace.
But it doesn't matter. As long as he gets out of the defense barrier of the Academy of Sciences, it won't be difficult for Bai Ze, who is a double S mecha, to break through the blockade of a group of A-class mechas. He Zhun was silent for a while, but still asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Aci, is it really okay for you to fight now?"
"It's okay. Huo Xianfeng said that it's common for pregnant women of their race to fight each other. Besides, it's just mecha driving, not hand-to-hand combat."
"Oh, so..."
He Zhun was sitting in the passenger seat, quickly sorting out the information in the computer.
"Although I don't think this is very scientific, but seeing an omega who is five months pregnant driving a mecha to fight has indeed made me recognize you in a new way, and also re-recognize the strength of the Zerg race."
"Thank you for the compliment, you are not bad either."
Jiang Ci controlled Bai Ze with quick and decisive movements, knocking down the intercepting mecha with one shot.
The silver giant almost completed a 720-degree rotation in the air. However, He Zhun, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was fastened in place by the seat belt. However, this kind of movement that only a professionally trained mecha pilot could bear seemed to be nothing to He Zhun. He just adjusted his glasses and continued to work expressionlessly.
In a sense, He Zhun is indeed a strong workaholic.
Probably because He Zhun was by his side, Jiang Ci's nervousness was relieved to a great extent. He was able to calm down quickly and find a solution. If we assume the worst case scenario, Pei Changyun was infected or even controlled, then his purpose should be to target Huo Xianfeng.
Although Jiang Ci didn't know what means the church had to let the dead Huo Chao replace the king insect, he had to go to the palace immediately to stop it anyway. Nora couldn't contact Huo Xianfeng anymore, which was not a good sign.
At this moment, all the fighter planes that received the order quickly gathered around.
"The target has been found! The target has been found!"
"Deploy the interception power grid immediately!"
Jiang Ci's expression turned cold, and she was ready to break through violently.
At this moment, Bai Ze's voice suddenly sounded -
"Aci... Zizi... Changmeng... My..."
The next second, Bai Ze's voice completely disappeared, replaced by Chang Meng's gentle mechanical voice.
"Hello, Major General Jiang Ci, I'm Chang Meng. I'm sorry that you have fled the Academy without permission. According to the Imperial Military Weapons Management Regulations, I can only forcibly suspend your access to Bai Ze."
The ownership of Bai Ze belongs to the Empire, and Jiang Ci only obtained the right to use it through the original National Mecha League. Therefore, Chang Meng can stop granting the right to use it.
“Damn it!”
Jiang Ci gritted her teeth.
But Xiao X was left in the Academy of Sciences.
At this moment, a huge electric net fell from the sky and instantly covered Bai Ze's head.
boom!
The moment the electric fence closed, a life capsule suddenly popped out from Bai Ze's chest.
"Oh no! Catch it quickly!!!"
That’s Major General Jiang Ci!
The legion commander gave a strict order that if their skin was even slightly broken they would all be killed!
Then, all the mechas immediately dropped down like a swarm of bees and rushed to the rescue.
The first alpha officer who rushed down grabbed the life capsule, but at this moment, an extremely dazzling snow light suddenly exploded behind them.
A white mecha quickly assembled and transformed into a fighter plane, and then as everyone rushed to the lifeboat, it turned into a meteor and sped away.
Eh
Everyone had a bunch of question marks on their heads. If it weren't for the dazzling snow light that made them cry, they would have thought they were hallucinating. They looked at Bai Ze who was caught in the interception electric net, and then turned their heads to look at the light point that disappeared into a star in the distance.
Another double S mecha
If the person driving the mecha is Major General Jiang Ci.
So who is in this lifeboat
With this question in mind, the alpha officer who was holding the life capsule lowered his head and met the eyes of the beta youth inside.
He Zhun had a blank expression on his face. He really didn't expect that Jiang Ci would use him as bait to divert the pursuers, but it was understandable when he thought about it, and the rest of the information in the book had not been obtained yet.
So He Zhun lay down inside, relaxed for a while, then turned on the computer and continued to work.
On the other side, Jiang Ci watched the pursuers go away and gradually relaxed. At this time, Cheng Yue quickly scanned Jiang Ci's physical condition. Although the abdomen was blocked from detection, other indicators were still good.
"Chengyue, when did your master authority transfer to me?"
This step was something Jiang Ci had not expected. Cheng Yue was silent for a few seconds, and then a cold electronic female voice came from above,
"When Leah was held captive."
"… Is it."
Jiang Ci closed his eyes and didn't ask any more questions. He drove Chengyue straight into the palace.
·
Dusk, the palace.
The architectural style of the entire palace is a bit like the ancient Chinese country on Earth, with outer and inner cities, layers of strictness, majesty, and grandeur, but the specific buildings are still in line with the technological sense of the times.
But there is one building that stands out and is inconspicuous.
It is a signal tower that reaches high into the sky. It is so high that you can overlook the entire capital. It is surrounded by complicated metal steel frame structures.
Near the top is a huge circular platform, which serves as an observation deck, but there is no protective fence around it.
At this moment, Cecilia curled up in the corner of the circular platform, with a knife inserted into her heart and nailed to the pillar behind her.
That was the knife that Huo Xianfeng gave to Pei Changyun last time.
"Huh..."
The woman gasped weakly. There was a familiar glass syringe on the ground. The golden liquid that was supposed to be stored inside was gone. When the evening breeze blew, the empty glass tube rolled and made a gurgling sound.
Cecilia raised her eyes with difficulty, and in her gradually darkening vision, she saw two familiar figures, one was Pei Changyun, and the other was Huo Xianfeng.
No, maybe now... it should be Huo Chao.
"I've always thought, it would be nice if I could see you again."
Pei Changyun looked down at the scenery of the capital in the distance and spoke softly,
“I just didn’t expect it to be this way.”
"… "
Pei Changyun heard a familiar sigh.
"It is not a good thing for the dead to be awakened."
The man lowered his eyes, and his dark eyes gradually revealed a warm smile.
"But Changyun, being able to see you again and see your dream come true is really a huge surprise for me."
"…Really, Huo Chao?"
Pei Changyun turned his head and looked at him. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the side of his face, casting a very, very warm light.
But Pei Changyun did not move forward, but took a step back. This circular platform had no guardrails, so the emperor, who stepped on the edge at this moment, was almost shaky.
Huo Chao quietly looked at his beloved Archon without reaching out his hand.
"Changyun, look, now no matter how high you fall from, you can land safely even without me catching you."
He smiled and said to the man,
"You've grown your own wings, haven't you?"
"… "
Pei Changyun closed his eyes, his brows trembling slightly.
boom!!!
At this moment, a huge explosion sounded from the outer city, and a familiar silver mecha broke into the palace. But the next second, General Wan followed closely behind and blocked Cheng Yue with a sword.
“?!”
Jiang Ci was stunned for a moment. He immediately exchanged a few moves with the other party and found that the driver inside did not seem to be Zhou Jiuya.
—The leaves are sparse.
"Damn it! I never thought I could be a wall for Pei Changyun in my life!"
Ye Shu gritted his teeth.
He was called over by Zhou Jiuya, who temporarily gave him control of Wan Jiang and asked him to rush to the palace as quickly as possible to stop Jiang Ci.
When the Ten Thousand Generals were first produced, in terms of mental threshold and strength, only Zhou Jiuya and Ye Shu could match them, but Zhou Jiuya was better, so he got the Ten Thousand Generals.
In this emergency situation, the only person Zhou Jiuya could trust and who could stop Jiang Ci was Ye Shu.
As the two sides were fighting fiercely, a sigh came from the circular platform on the tower.
"Ah... Chengyue, is that Minmin?"
This is Huo Xianfeng's voice, but it's Huo Chao's tone.
Pei Changyun shook his head and answered him,
"No, Minmin is dead. That's the child she and Jiang Jin had. Her name is Aci."
At the same time, during the fierce battle, Jiang Ci also saw the two familiar figures on the high tower. Before he could let go of his worried heart, he saw the clear close-up captured by Cheng Yue.
That was indeed Huo Xianfeng's face.
However, it was not a familiar look or a familiar expression. Even Jiang Ci, who had learned lip reading, could clearly read the other person's lip shape at this moment.
“…I see.”
The man was stunned for a moment, then gave a broken and forced smile.
"Mercy's child, so much like her."
"… "
At this moment, He Zhun's words filled Jiang Ci's mind.
[They are growing stronger while the other is declining. If Huo Chao survives, Huo Xianfeng will die.]
This was probably the first time that Jiang Ci tasted despair. He felt cold all over, and all his strength seemed to be drained away in an instant. But the next second, a force as hot as molten lava surged in.
"Give him back to me..."
Those crimson eyes were so dark that they seemed to bleed.
"Give him back to me!!!"
boom!!!
The next second, the huge silver mecha fired a shot and threw Wan Jiang back nearly a hundred meters, directly breaking dozens of buildings. The rumbling sound was endless. The next second, the palace guards immediately stepped forward and filled in the gap left by Wan Jiang.
The terrible noise caused the tower to shake, but Pei Changyun didn't care, as if he had expected it. He suddenly asked,
"Huo Chao, are you in pain?"
"… "
Huo Chao knew what he was asking, because part of what Cecilia said was indeed true.
"It doesn't hurt."
He smiled the same smile as before, like the sun, making people feel warm at the sight of it.
“When I think that our dreams can come true, I feel… very happy.”
Our dreams refer to Huo Xianfeng's revenge and rebirth, Huo Chao's freedom, and Pei Changyun's desire to build a beautiful country with his own hands.
The dream of all three of them.
Pei Changyun covered his eyes and eyebrows, and for a moment he looked like he wanted to cry.
Pei Changyun loves everything about Huo Chao.
Love his tolerance, kindness, bravery, gentleness...
Love his soul as warm as the morning sun.
In short, it seems that all the good qualities of mankind can be accumulated in that one person.
But it was precisely these things that forced him to die.
Forcing him to rush forward without hesitation to a bloody and extremely painful sacrifice.
"By the way, Changyun."
Huo Chao wanted to change the subject, but he also remembered to ask,
"You said before that you had something to tell me when I came back. What was it?"
"… "
It's a child.
It was a little life that they had once nurtured together.
At this moment, Pei Changyun really wanted to ask—
If, if I say that we... we once, briefly, nurtured a life together...
Will you choose to live for him... for us, Huo Chao
Will you be a little selfish for us
But in the end, Pei Changyun didn't ask.
Because even if I said it, what would it matter
Does it mean that the child died because of Huo Chao's white lie, which caused him to fall into countless Zhimei flowers
There is no point in telling this matter, except to make Huo Chao leave with full of guilt and pain.
Pointless.
So it's better for him to know this secret alone.
It is better to have one pain borne by one person than to have it split into two.
"I, I wanted to say..."
Pei Changyun put down his hand and tried to smile at him.
"I wish you a safe journey. If you can't come back, that's okay."
"Huo Chao, I wish you... your dream comes true."
Also... a worthy death.
“I see.”
Huo Chao was stunned. He knew Pei Changyun was not telling the truth, but he still chose to believe it.
"Um!"
Pei Changyun saw that a golden undercurrent began to gradually emerge from his left eye, which was extremely dazzling and beautiful in the afterglow of the setting sun.
He replaced the medicine.
When Pei Changyun received the tube of golden liquid from Cecilia that day, he secretly sent it back to the Capital Academy of Sciences.
After more than two months of research and development, what they finally got was not a drug that allowed Huo Chao to replace Huo Xianfeng, but a drug that completely removed Huo Chao from Huo Xianfeng's body.
"I'm sorry, Changyun."
Huo Chao looked at him intently, as if he wanted to remember him for the last time.
"I'm really going to leave this time."
"… It doesn't matter."
The day Pei Changyun confirmed that he fell in love with Huo Chao was when Chaori was just born.
He fell from the tower. Huo Chao hugged him.
Pei Changyun heard his heart beating wildly, as if it was about to crash into the other person's chest from his chest.
The day when Pei Changyun and Huo Chao said goodbye to each other completely was sunset.
The setting sun was like blood, and the entire sky was dark red. It was as if... Huo Chao's blood had dyed them red.
"Goodbye, Huo Chao."
Never see you again.
This is our farewell forever.
At this moment, Pei Changyun had no way to hug him, or even touch him.
He could only capture another disappearing soul through Huo Xianfeng's face.
This was the second time Pei Changyun watched Huo Chao die.
Just like the first time, he could do nothing.
The man's remaining black eye gradually began to glow golden. At this moment, Pei Changyun suddenly turned around and strode away.
Huo Chao was right, he was always right.
It was not until now that Pei Changyun realized that he really had no way... to watch that person die.
"I said Huo Chao, don't use my body to cry."
—This is Huo Xianfeng’s tone.
“It’s ugly.”
"Wuwuwu, I can't help it, Xiaofeng, you know I have naturally developed tear glands."
Huo Chao watched Pei Changyun's receding back and suddenly said,
"Xiaofeng, I have one last wish, can you fulfill it?"
"… What?"
This tone means agreement.
"I want to see your..."
The next second, Huo Chao untied his belt.
"Ah... I lost again."
"Huo Chao!!!"
Huo Xianfeng's voice was filled with anger and shame.
"you… "
Having said this, Huo Xianfeng's angry expression suddenly froze, because at this moment, the star belonging to Huo Chao completely disappeared.
At this time, Pei Changyun, who was walking down the tower, saw Jiang Ci rushing up. They looked at each other, and their eyes were red.
“… He’s on top.”
After saying that, Pei Changyun brushed past him, walked away without even looking back.
A moment later, he heard the sound of Jiang Ci wailing loudly from above.
"Huo Xianfeng!"
"Um."
"Huo... Huo Xianfeng..."
"I am here."
"Huo Xianfeng..."
"Yeah, it's okay."
(End of this chapter)