The door was closed, and the room fell silent once more.

"Mech pilot... It's pitiful that Ri Chi is following me around. I hope he can contribute his light and heat one last time."

...

Zhang Jiang left Su Huo's room, glanced at Pei Zhiyu's room next door, and on a whim, changed direction and knocked on his door.

"Enter."

Zhang Jiang pushed open the door. Compared to Su Huo's room, Pei Zhiyu's room was much more exquisite. The first thing that caught his eye was a whole wall of books. At a glance, these books included history, literature, mecha design and other types, filling the bookshelf that reached the ceiling to the brim. On the desk in front of the bookshelf were some mecha models. Judging from the marks on them, the owner took good care of them.

Next was a low table with a half-finished Go game on it. On the other side of the wall was a screen playing a historical documentary, while Pei Zhiyu sat on the sofa making tea.

It was a room that looked very homey; if he didn't know he was in a sanatorium, he would have thought he was in a professor's house.

The brewed tea emitted a delicate fragrance. "Please sit down, Dr. Zhang. Is there anything I can help you with?" Pei Zhiyu asked Zhang Jiang with a slight smile.

Zhang Jiang was dazed; compared to Su Huo, Pei Zhiyu was indeed far too stable.

Seeing Zhang Jiang standing at the door for a long time without coming in, Pei Zhiyu looked up and asked, "Dr. Zhang?"

Zhang Jiang snapped out of his reverie, went inside, and closed the door. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. It's nothing, I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd check on you."

"The embers are burning again..."

Zhang Jiang interrupted him, "Yes, but it's all fine now. It didn't affect you, did it?"

Pei Zhiyu shook his head. "No, I just heard the sound of glass shattering."

"It's good that you're alright. Have you been feeling unwell lately?" Zhang Jiang walked over and sat down next to Pei Zhiyu. Only after sitting down on the sofa did Zhang Jiang notice a folding wheelchair tucked into the sofa cushions.

Noticing Zhang Jiang's gaze, he also looked at the folding wheelchair. He smiled and said, "Dr. Zhang went on a business trip last week and may not know, but my heart failure seems to have gotten worse. Since last week, I sometimes can't stand up, so I asked for this wheelchair."

Zhang Jiang opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately no sound came out. How could this be? The rate of decline was faster than he had imagined. In just one year, he was already unable to stand up? His condition had been stable throughout this period, and his mental energy was not particularly active. He and Su Huo were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Why was he the one who was more seriously ill?

Seeing that Pei Zhiyu was still brewing tea, Zhang Jiang stammered, "If you have a heart condition, don't drink tea."

"I know, I'm just soaking them; they'll all eventually end up inside the fire. Just to cool him down."

"Okay, just so you know."

Silence fell over the room. Zhang Jiang continued, "A group of students from the academy have come to visit you and the Su Huo mech. They'll be visiting Su Huo for the first three days and you for the next three. If they disturb you, let me know immediately."

"It's okay, the kids are very energetic, that's good."

"Um."

The room fell silent again, save for the sound of Pei Zhiyu brewing tea. The quiet made Zhang Jiang, who was sitting next to Pei Zhiyu, uneasy. He stood up and said, "Well then, I'll be going now. Let me know if anything happens."

Pei Zhiyu didn't react. Zhang Jiang walked to the door on his own, and suddenly he heard Pei Zhiyu speak.

"Dr. Zhang, is my condition more serious than that of Su Huo?"

Zhang Jiang stood there, unsure how to respond for a long time.

"Never mind. Dr. Zhang, you don't need to tell me the answer. See you next time."

Zhang Jiang silently left the house and closed the door. Pei Zhiyu looked up at the spot where Zhang Jiang had just been standing, his smile vanished, and his gaze turned cold.

We're all going to die anyway.

It's a real shame that the Federation has lost its two swords.

——

At night, after Yang Qinglu fell asleep, Ye Jiu activated his ability and saw more mental energy lines at night than during the day.

Ye Jiu also noticed an interesting phenomenon: Huai Jin's spiritual energy lines were colorless, but what she saw now was glowing red. Was the color different for everyone? Or was it only for people with chaotic spiritual energy, since ordinary people's spiritual energy wouldn't wander around randomly?

Ye Jiu reached out and grabbed a knot. It had a small knot, but it was loose and easy to handle. Having dealt with so many dead knots, dealing with this kind of loose knot felt like playing a game to her. Ye Jiu quickly became engrossed in it, absorbing the extra mental energy that made her feel more and more energetic. The drowsiness she should have felt disappeared as she combed through it.

By the early hours of the morning, Ye Jiu had finished combing through her mental energy. All the lines of energy in front of her had returned to normal. Satisfied, she stopped, closed her eyes, and lay back down on the bed.

Okay, now I can go to sleep.

——

The moonlight was shrouded in clouds, and the sky was dark and gloomy.

Su Huo suddenly sat up in bed, his eyes glowing red in the darkness, clearly indicating something was wrong.

So comfortable, let me stick it on... go find... go stick it on... go see her.

With sheer force, he tore the door apart, entered the room, found the source, and without a word, hugged her tightly through the blanket.

As if he wanted to mark her, he rubbed his head against her neck.

It smells so good, it feels so comforting, but it's not enough, it's not enough, it's missing something. What's missing?

He began to tighten his grip.

Ye Jiu was woken up by the urge to breathe.

The way he was holding her made her think it was Huaijin. In her dazed state, she forgot that she had left home. She pushed Su Huo away forcefully and muttered, "Why is Huaijin holding me so tightly?"

"Hmm? Who is Huaijin?" Su Huo's natural possessiveness made him extremely jealous of the "Huaijin" mentioned by Ye Jiu.

"No, you can only be mine, mine. Don't want Huaijin, don't want him. I will do better than him."

Hearing this completely unfamiliar voice, Ye Jiu was startled awake.

She sat up abruptly, turned on the bedside lamp, and was so frightened by the sight of a man she had never seen before that she jumped out of bed.

"Who are you?!"

Su Huo blinked slowly and said matter-of-factly, "I'm your little dog, don't you recognize me anymore?"

Ye Jiu jumped barefoot to the ground, "I don't know you."

Su Huo was a little sad. "You just touched me... Is it because of that Huai Jin? I'm better than him, don't you want him?"

Huh?! How did he know about Huaijin? Ye Jiu thought about it carefully and realized that he must have said it while he was half asleep.

"It has nothing to do with him, I really have never seen you before."

Su Huo stood before her, Ye Jiu's resistance making him uncomfortable. He realized he might have made a mistake, so he knelt before Ye Jiu, "You can punish me, but please don't disown me, okay?"

Huh? Huh? Huh?

What kind of tree does peanut grow on?

Ye Jiu looked at him, bewildered. "Why are you kneeling down?"

Su Huo said aggrievedly, "Because, Master, you don't want me anymore."

Ye Jiu crossed her arms, seemingly wanting to speak but then stopping herself, opening her mouth only to realize, "Damn, I forgot what I was going to say."

Ye Jiu stepped over the fire, put on her slippers, reached out and pulled him up, "Stand up, don't kneel, what's your name?"