Chapter 55

“Without a medical pod, the seriously wounded students won’t make it.”

Teacher Yi Lan shouted at Bart. Half of those in the encirclement had already collapsed. Anxiety and despair spread; some Mecha had already begun to slack off.

“Wu Ying, save me!”

Someone had been grabbed—a bird had its beak clamped on his shoulder and lifted him clean off the ground, flying right past Wu Ying’s eyes. Wu Ying immediately charged forward. She wanted to rescue him. Her light whip extended; concentrating hard, she landed a solid hit on that filthy bird.

Wu Ying rushed to catch the falling classmate, but in her haste, her feet got tangled in the vines wrapping around her, and she tripped.

At least she caught the person dropping from the sky—a male classmate, the most eager one in class, who had borrowed her notebook several times.

“Can you hold on?”

The male classmate was in too much pain to speak. Wu Ying only saw him shaking his head, blood pouring from his shoulder. Even through her Mecha, she felt like she could smell the rusty scent of blood.

“I’ll take you to Teacher Yi Lan.”

Wu Ying braced herself to stand, but the vines around her attacked wildly. Fortunately, her Mecha was tough, though it made her steps unsteady. What worried her most were the birds above.

She cradled him in her palm, curling her chest and lowering her head to shield him completely. She struggled to break free of the vines around her feet and walked toward the encirclement.

The withered vines on the ground kept writhing; the shadows of the flying birds crisscrossed overhead, occasionally pecking hard at her Mecha. Wu Ying kept her head down, only watching the path. The wind on this barren star carried a biting chill, as if cheering on its own children.

A whoosh passed overhead, and several dark shadows fell to the ground—even vaster than the earlier flock. Wu Ying remained calm, as if she saw nothing.

“We’re saved.”

A murmur reached her ears. Wu Ying, sluggish, watched the vines on the ground snap and shatter piece by piece, bird carcasses dropping continuously.

She looked up instinctively. Several Mecha flew in the sky, their shoulder insignia from the Fourth Military District standing out clearly.

A Mecha suddenly charged in front of Wu Ying, its iron palm gripping her arm as it turned and shouted, “There’s a wounded person here.”

It was an almost entirely black Mecha, with only a few white lines on its forehead and chest.

A rescue Mecha flew over and lifted the wounded from her hands. Wu Ying stood dazed, then suddenly received a communication from Asher: “You can retract the Mecha now.”

He patted the head of her Mecha reassuringly. Wu Ying snapped back to reality and stored the Mecha into her space button. She finally stepped onto the ground again; the vines that had been writhing and tumbling were now crushed to bits. Wu Ying stumbled a few steps.

Asher steadied her, his gaze sweeping over her body. Wu Ying looked at him with tearful eyes. Asher’s heart jumped, his eyes sharpening, thinking she was injured. Wu Ying’s condition wasn’t good—her forehead was damp with sweat-soaked hair, her nose red, her lips pale, signs of exhaustion.

Wu Ying reached out and grabbed him, then took in Asher’s appearance. His handsome face was cut, bright red blood left un-wiped, his clothes battle-worn, as if he’d just come off the battlefield.

Comparing the two, it seemed Asher should be the one crying. Asher looked at her face, his expression softening. He bit the glove and pulled it off, then gently wiped the tears from Wu Ying’s cheeks.

Her fair face was red only around her nose and eyes—she cried quietly, yet it tore at his heart unbearably.

“What’s wrong?”

Asher asked, lowering his head. The moment he spoke, Wu Ying seemed to crumble, leaning into him. She held him, hearing his steady heartbeat, and slowly calmed down.

Wu Ying leaned against his chest, catching the scent of blood. She rubbed against his clothes, trying to shake off the smell. Asher pressed down on her restless head, stroking her soft hair. She must have been terrified.

Only when he held her did Asher fully relax.

Others were cleaning up the battlefield; Asher had brought a squad with him. Conversations buzzed around, but Wu Ying, having gone to save someone, was a bit away from the crowd. With Asher’s men blocking behind him, Wu Ying felt embarrassed to keep holding him once she came to herself.

“Why are you here?”

Wu Ying wiped her tears herself, her voice listless. The tears had fallen on their own; in truth, she no longer felt like crying now.

The warship was parked not far away. Asher took her hand and walked over, not joining Wu Ying’s classmates. The police had already been contacted, and someone should be sent to pick them up soon.

This barren star had a special magnetic field, so it took a while to locate them. Fortunately, Jiujiu was there; otherwise, Asher and his team wouldn’t have made it in time.

Meng Ke pushed the door open first, and Asher led Wu Ying into his private quarters.

Meng Ke himself was covered in grime. Wu Ying smiled politely at him. Meng Ke bowed his head without meeting her eyes. “Ma’am, your two friends were just asking about you. Should I relay a message, or...?”

It must be Huo Lin and Cynthia. Wu Ying turned and pressed Asher’s hand. “I’ll go see them.” She’d almost forgotten—when Asher pulled her along, she just went, her mind blank.

Asher glanced at Meng Ke, then brushed the stray hair from her forehead. “Alright, come back soon. You need a physical check-up.”

He was afraid she’d fall ill; her mental state was very poor.

“Mm, okay.”

Asher followed them to the warship’s entrance. Wu Ying waved at him, then walked off on her own before Meng Ke could lead the way.

“Follow her.”

Meng Ke nodded and immediately followed. Asher couldn’t move around freely, so he could only stand in place. Fortunately, Asher and his group’s arrival had lit up the clearing, and Wu Ying’s figure remained clearly visible under the lights.

“Cynthia, Huo Lin, are you two hurt?”

“We’re fine. We should be asking you that. You okay? I saw you go out alone to save someone—scared me to death.” Cynthia said hurriedly, grabbing her hand and spinning her around for a look.

Huo Lin held back the bouncing Cynthia and looked at Wu Ying calmly. She’d probably been with the commander just now; nothing could have happened.

“We’re fine too. Are you leaving directly with the commander? Tell the teacher before you go, and don’t worry about us.” Huo Lin glanced behind Wu Ying and only saw a figure in the shadows.

Probably someone protecting Wu Ying. Now that the military had arrived, safety was no longer a concern. They just needed to wait patiently for the rescue team. Her own family should be arriving soon too.

“Leaving directly? I don’t know his plans. What about you two? Going back to school with the teacher?”

“My family should be sending someone to pick me up, and Huo Lin’s too, probably.”

Wu Ying nodded, relieved to know their arrangements. “Tell me before you leave. If you need anything, just say so directly. I’m off?”

“Go on, you traitor who abandons friends for love.”

Wu Ying rubbed her nose. She’d known she’d get teased before coming, and she couldn’t escape it even now.

“Want to shower first?” Asher casually tossed off his dirty clothes, and seeing Wu Ying about to collapse onto the bed, he immediately pulled her up.

Wu Ying shook her head, trying to refuse. She’d just taken a mental power potion, and now—“I’m so tired. My head hurts.”

Asher gripped her waist with one hand, half-carrying her toward the bathroom.

“My head hurts. If I shower again, I’ll pass out.”

Wu Ying leaned on him and pinched him. Her head really hurt. She hadn’t noticed it while tense from piloting the Mecha, but now it ached so much she didn’t want to move at all. The potion wasn’t helping either; she just wanted to curl up.

“I know.” Asher cradled her head. “I’ll help you.” Her hair was soft, and Asher rubbed it instinctively.

“A literal kind of help?”

Wu Ying had a smart mouth—she couldn’t be bothered to move, yet she still had to tease him. Asher chuckled softly, pinching the soft flesh at her waist. “Do you need other kinds of help?” The implication was thick.

“No, thanks.”

After the shower, Wu Ying lounged lazily with half-closed eyes—the side effect of the mental power potion was drowsiness and dizziness.

Pulling open the covers, Asher lifted Wu Ying into bed. The night was still long; she should sleep well.

“Where are you going?”

Wu Ying reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, tugging at the person about to leave.

Asher braced himself, his lower body over Wu Ying, whose eyes were still closed. He looked down, quietly scanning her forehead, nose, lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“Stay with me.”

“Can’t be too long.”

Asher answered honestly, the hand propped beside her head falling down to wrap around her, the two of them nestled together.

“How long is too long?”

“Go to sleep.”

Asher pressed her lifted head against his chest. His throat rumbled, and Wu Ying felt a tingling numbness spread from her ears down her neck.

She slowly opened her eyes, just in time to see his throat bob. Intrigued, she raised a fingertip and gently pressed on his Adam’s apple, rubbing and squeezing, until Asher reached out and pinned her hand to stop.

“Asher, do you like me?”

Wu Ying’s voice was low and soft, drifting lightly. Asher heard it, and he couldn’t quite name the feeling in his chest. He just didn’t know how to answer her.

Wu Ying didn’t hear a reply, and disappointment weighed on her heart. But she thought she might actually be starting to like him.

The room’s temperature had already been set to Wu Ying’s favorite setting. Asher slipped out of bed quietly, took clean clothes from the wardrobe, and dressed again. The day’s matters weren’t finished.

The dim bedside lamp lit only a corner of the room, its comforting glow casting Wu Ying’s profile in soft light. Asher, fully dressed at the foot of the bed, glanced at her, then gently pushed the door open and left.

Meng Ke was already waiting outside. At the office, Asher called his aide. He had come in haste today, leaving the aide to finish up at the defense line. He needed to understand the situation further and prepare for tomorrow’s interrogation.

Asher had only left after repelling the insect race at the defense line, but that was an easy handle to grab. The aide, from the moment Asher left, had been monitoring anomalous signals within the military; the list was sent to the commander’s terminal. “These people are all under control.”

Meng Ke also sent over the report on the insect race that attacked the ship, his tone slightly hesitant: “The inspection team hasn’t found anything unusual yet.”

“Nothing unusual? These bugs just appeared out of thin air thousands of light-years from the defense line?”

Asher asked coldly, his finger sliding over the report before shoving it back. He wasn’t satisfied. His goals went beyond this—some in the military had been reaching too far. Perhaps he’d been too docile for too long, making people think the Fourth Army could be meddled with at will.