Chapter 84 The skeletons always have to move forward.

Three months after returning to Manra, the Chaotic Starfield finally released definitive news: Yi Lan, the current commander of the mercenaries, passed away last night at Fortress Zerg due to severe injuries.

This news was expected by many. Some were relieved, while others were saddened. Shi Wei couldn't quite remember how long it took her to process the grief over Yi Lan's death—perhaps weeks, perhaps months, perhaps years.

In short, when she thought back to those days much later, her memory was very blurry. Her psychologist told her that this was the body's self-protection mechanism, which would actively forget those painful memories.

For a long time, she told herself that it was Yi Lan's own choice, and she didn't need to feel pain because of it. If he hadn't acted recklessly, neither of them would have been there that day, and they wouldn't have run into the Zerg.

Although in that case, tens of thousands of people on Xiaoyao Star would certainly lose their lives, and if no one noticed, with the blessing of the King Worm, hundreds of thousands or even millions of worms might flood into this universe.

But none of this concerns her; she is now the victim.

Last month, the Cosmic Security Committee awarded Yi Lan a cosmic medal—in recognition of his contributions to humanity's war against the Zerg.

Although awarding a censorate to a bandit leader is abstract, there are not many people who object. After all, the dead should be respected. No matter how many despicable things Yi Lan had done, they were all wiped clean the moment he killed the King Worm and saved humanity.

If he hadn't killed the Ohmu in time, humanity might have paid an even greater price.

"How are you feeling today?" Deep underground in the Grasshopper Fortress, this special ward welcomed its first visitor of the day.

Hela learned about Yi Lan's physical condition through the recorder in the treatment chamber.

It's a complete mess.

King Sklag II did try his best to collect the fragments, but due to the large number of insects, they could only piece together a large part of Yi Lan.

Fortunately, his brain was not cracked open and his heart was still intact. Unfortunately, most of his other vital organs were missing or incomplete, and the remaining body was extremely vulnerable due to the shockwave and radiation.

After such a long period of treatment, Yi Lan was only lucid for a pitifully short time. He only gave two instructions: first, to confirm Hela's acting commander, and second, to undergo prosthetic body modification.

The former was decided many years ago, as for the latter... Hela knew his personality extremely well. Someone as narcissistic as him would not accept such an incomplete, incongruous version of himself unless he was seriously hurt.

Hela and Yi Lan's spiritual entities spoke for a while. The little red wolf lay listlessly beside its master. Although it was conscious, it was very weak. It tried to rub against Hela's palm, then slumped its head down, looking utterly pitiful.

"Rest well and don't cause trouble. I'll come see you again in a couple of days." Hela stroked its ears. She used to think that the commander was always acting on a whim, making trouble for no reason and offending people everywhere. Now that she was sitting in this position herself and watching the situation gradually get out of control, she realized that Yi Lan had also had a hard time.

She was about to leave, but then she thought about it and came back, saying, "There's news from Manra that His Majesty's wedding has been postponed so that a memorial service can be held first for the soldiers who died in the battle against the Zerg... But I think it's probably because of you. Miss Shi might... Well, it's no use saying all this now, but I think she definitely wants you to survive."

The commander's love, or even just his restrained affection, brought too much disaster to Miss Shi.

They are really not a good match, and even if they were together, it would be difficult for things to go well.

"Maybe fate really does exist, but people always have to move forward. I believe you will overcome this difficulty."

...

The wedding postponement was actually His Majesty's decision. The Zerg attack was a major event that the entire universe needed to pay attention to. Although the death of the Overlord has been confirmed, no one can guarantee that there are still undiscovered tunnels. Every time the Overlord leaves its nest, it leaves behind eggs to prevent the extinction of its race in case of an accident. No one knows when the eggs will hatch or whether they will attack humans again.

So, at Manra's urging, everyone temporarily put aside their grudges and checked their own territories for tunnels and traces of the Zerg.

As for why Yi Lan appeared near Xiaoyao Star, Manra and the mercenaries reached an agreement after a secret meeting: both sides discovered the Zerg at the same time and sent troops one after the other. Yi Lan, the mercenary commander, happened to be nearby and arrived first. However, since neither side had discovered the arrival of the Queen Zerg, they did not plan carefully, which led to the vanguard being surrounded by the Zerg. Yi Lan had no choice but to use the most risky method to kill the Queen Zerg, and he also died in battle. The main force that arrived later could only clear the crazed Zerg in grief.

This was a respectable explanation given after everyone exchanged their interests, since the truth would be unacceptable to both sides. One of the leaders had his fiancée kidnapped, while the other successfully kidnapped someone but ran into an encirclement by the Zerg. The two most powerful rulers in the universe almost suffered a double disaster.

It would be a huge embarrassment if word got out, so everyone quickly reached a consensus on this point. Hela also knew that the mercenaries without Yi Lan were most vulnerable to division at this time, and she repeatedly requested to speak with Shi Wei, but was refused by Sklag II.

"Don't try to play the emotional card. She is the most innocent victim in this attack," the hawk-eyed, blue-eyed emperor said coldly.

He was being merciful by not taking the opportunity to instigate a coup in the chaotic star field. If it weren't for Yi Lan bringing Shi Wei out unharmed, he would never have been so accommodating.

Hela had no choice but to give Shi Wei a portion of Yi Lan's inheritance as compensation.

His Majesty accepted the compensation on Shi Wei's behalf and told her, "This is what you deserve. There's no reason why this robber can be regarded as a savior, while you, the victim, can only be forced to hide because of the needs of us politicians."

At the same time, His Majesty also transferred some of his property to her and very quickly handed over many items related to Asta from the royal collection to her for safekeeping. Mr. Allen had some complaints, but His Majesty shut him down with the words, "The incident happened in the palace."

Shi Wei felt that he must also feel guilty, because he couldn't directly take revenge on the mercenaries, so he could only indirectly give them a lot of money to make up for it—Yi Lan was already dead, Manra had reached a reconciliation with the mercenaries, and she didn't want to cause any more trouble.

“Actually, you’ve already given me a lot of things over the years. Just the money alone is more than I could spend in ten lifetimes. And I can understand why you accepted the mercenaries’ pleas for peace. We can’t just start a war, can we? Besides, he’s already dead.” Shi Wei had spoken to His Majesty, but it was to no avail.

“These things were meant for you anyway. You’ve already agreed to marry me, so it doesn’t matter whether you get them sooner or later.” Sklag II chuckled self-deprecatingly. “In this respect, I am indeed inferior to Yi Lan. He can openly amass wealth, while I need to find excuses to give you my assets.”

The reason he gave it to Shi Wei now was to take advantage of this rare opportunity. Since Shi Wei was kidnapped from the palace, everyone had to bear some responsibility. While these people still felt a little guilty, she could rightfully accept this "compensation," saving her decades of trouble.

“But this is really too much.” Shi Weiguang looked at the assets with helplessness; there was no end to the money, assets, and a terrifying agreement.

The agreement stipulated that if Shi Wei gave birth to a child, regardless of gender or the concentration of the source blood, the nuclear code would be entrusted to that child for safekeeping after Sklag II's death.

“This is a guarantee.” A trace of melancholy flashed across King Sklag II’s face as he explained, “I used to think that I could live to be 200 years old, that I could accompany you for a hundred years, that you wouldn’t be too sad after I was gone, and that I could make proper arrangements for everything… But this Zerg attack has taught me a reality: no one can guarantee that they won’t have an accident that day. Even someone as strong as Yi Lan will have a moment when he has no choice but to die.”

“I’m starting to fear that something might happen to me one day, so I have to prepare for the worst-case scenario in advance. Maybe there will be a world war tomorrow, or maybe the Zerg will sweep across the universe again—there are too many unknowns in this world.” Having lived more than half his life, he has come to understand this more deeply.

“So I hope you can have a child with me, because there are many things I can’t give you directly, but I can give to my child. That way, even if something happens to me, he can protect you.” The man said slowly, touching Shi Wei’s face and sighing, “We can’t rely on Cyril and Similan, can we? The fact that they don’t have any ulterior motives towards you is already the greatest respect they can show me as their father.”

Shi Wei twitched the corner of her mouth, and then heard him say, "Besides, if we really have a child, he will need these things too."

This child was undoubtedly what he had hoped for, but not necessarily what others had hoped for. If something happened to him, Similan and Cyril would definitely fight to the death, and Shiwei would be in great danger then.

Having said that, there was no reason to refuse.

Shi Wei thought for a moment and asked, "When do you plan to hold the wedding?"

This matter could drag on for too long, which would be disastrous. If someone with ulterior motives discovers something, things will get complicated.

"Do you want to postpone it again, or... bring it forward?" he asked thoughtfully.

King Sklag II gazed at her face, trying to discern her true thoughts from those dark eyes.

"Postponing it again? Any further delays will make even a fool realize something's wrong. Let's get this settled as soon as possible." Shi Wei leaned on his shoulder, touching the blue gemstone on his ring, and sighed, "The wedding shouldn't be too complicated. I've been feeling really tired lately. You should focus on getting everything done in one go. After the wedding, let's find a quiet place for a vacation."

She wanted to rest for a while; she was really tired and wanted to find a place to hide away and clear her mind, to not think about anything.

"Alright." His Majesty, of course, would grant any request in such a situation.

As long as it's not postponed, everything is fine.