Past Events 3 - Asleep

On the planetary belt at the Zerg's border, a barrier belt was established around the human star system, using special metals to carry powerful light sources, creating a seemingly weak but very effective initial defense—Zerg are afraid of strong light.

While it can't stop Zerg of C rank or higher, it's more than enough to deal with the smaller fry.

Several years have passed since that great battle, but many sentries still remember the horrors of that time.

The 160 S-class toxin insects sent by the Zerg were all wiped out, but humanity also suffered heavy losses. The monument still stands on several planets in the asteroid belt.

The war only ended when Lin Changli's Alpha Legion killed the Emperor Queen.

The one who has been fighting on the border, helping humanity resist the Zerg toxins, is someone else.

On the training field, a huge Tengshe (a type of snake) was sprayed with toxic mist.

Jiang Sili stood on the second floor of the training building, looking down at the shivering rookie sentries through the mist.

“Facing the poisonous fog is the first lesson in fighting the Zerg.” The adjutant walked up behind him, having seen the scene downstairs, and added in agreement. “It’s already merciful enough that they weren’t made to confront the poison directly; other legions wouldn’t have such a slow and steady approach.”

Jiang Sili nodded slightly, revealing little emotion.

"General, we received a message from the capital planet requesting your return for a performance review meeting," the adjutant reported dutifully. "The old lady just called me, saying she's very angry because you didn't reply to her messages."

The old lady the adjutant mentioned was Jiang Sili's mother.

Jiang Sili sighed, scratching his head, which was unusual for him, as he was at a loss for what to do.

"Has the old lady taken a fancy to another young lady and wants you to go back for a blind date?" the adjutant joked with him.

Jiang Sili nodded helplessly. Even in interstellar space, the pressure to get married is an eternal topic.

"My troops are stationed on the Zerg border, why should I delay others? Besides, I'm still so young, what's the rush?" Jiang Sili said indifferently.

"The old lady said that the lady from last time didn't care whether you were home or not, as long as you paid on time and were given management rights over a shipping route." The adjutant smiled gloatingly.

Jiang Sili glanced at him and sighed helplessly.

As Jiang Sili distinguished himself on the Zerg battlefield and rose through the ranks of the military, the Jiang family's status rose accordingly. They moved back to the capital planet to rebuild their family brand.

Their commercial empire not only expanded to the entire Gamma Galaxy, but they also achieved great success in the competition for interstellar routes, gaining management and operation rights for seven major routes, and transporting their goods to various parts of the galaxy and even to other galaxies.

Few dared to bring up Jiang Sili's past as a space pirate.

Ironically, these past events have been whitewashed as "a normal rebellious phase for teenagers."

Jiang Sili kept his promise to the emperor and never contacted the White Wolf Gang directly again.

However, given the family's substantial resources, Jiang Sili hinted to her grandmother, who then secretly contacted Jiang Zhaoyuan and helped her make money through the Grand Line, continuing to support the entire pirate crew. She even placed several children who could disguise themselves as humans on one of the best-controlled sea routes, allowing them to interact and communicate normally with humans.

As a result, the White Wolf Legion gradually disappeared from everyone's sight, and the G13 Legion, which was originally responsible for capturing space pirates, also gradually stepped down.

It is worth mentioning that although the G13 Legion, under the leadership of Aso Ment, shed the stigma of being the "cursed legion" and the "useless legion," it was given another name because of its behavior: the "money-grubbing legion."

Besides his exceptional combat skills, Aso Ment's ability to make money rivals that of top conglomerates.

Jiang Sili had only heard about the countless manors, lands, properties, companies, and giant processing plants under her name.

He hadn't seen her in a long time, and the woman in his memory was becoming increasingly blurry.

The internal military website, which I secretly searched at night, always displayed that ID photo from when I first joined the army, showing me as young and full of vigor.

When I returned to the capital planet to report on my work, I never ran into him even once, for various reasons.

Neither of them had added each other as friends on the terminal. Although they could have contacted each other through the military network's internal address book, they hesitated to press the request button.

Moreover, what should be said if it's added?

I'm still alive and doing quite well. I've taken a path I never took before, and found it wasn't so easy, but I've finally made it through...

Given her personality, she would probably only find it troublesome and a burden.

She's not the type to feel melancholy or sadness.

In recent years, the person he has been in the most frequent contact with, besides his family, is surprisingly the young Duke Melusin Seren.

The young duke was the one the emperor arranged to send money to the White Wolf Gang. He was also the first person to discover the existence of the White Wolf Gang before Jiang Sili joined.

As the intermediary for the emperor's communications, she kept it a secret even from her mother, Duke Vera Sayen.

After Jiang Sili joined the army, he handed over the remaining 30 million star coins of the White Wolf Clan as compensation.

Jiang Sili still remembers Meluxin's expression at the time: "Wow? You want me to balance the books for this little bit of money? How am I supposed to do that? This isn't balancing the books, it's mending the sky!"

But she still managed to complete it perfectly in the end, and Jiang Sili had no idea how she did it.

The border not only borders the Zerg, but is also very close to the Federation.

Over the years, Melusin often asked him to sell the stolen jewels in the neighboring Federation star system in his spare time. The money would be put into the capital market by Melusin, and he would take profits when he saw them. The money would then be used by the emperor as scholarships and war subsidies.

The money from selling jewelry is just a drop in the bucket compared to this benefit.

Welfare policies can only be subsidized by the national treasury; the power of individuals, even the emperor himself, is limited.

"When are we going to the capital planet?" Jiang Sili asked, looking down at his terminal and scrolling through his contacts.

“Three days from now. You can go earlier if you wish; the border is stable, and you don’t need to be present all the time,” the adjutant replied.

Jiang Sili gave a casual reply and then contacted Meluxin.

After hesitating for a moment, he still sent a message.

After receiving a reply, he smiled and said to his adjutant, "Then I'll go over today. You can go after you've settled things here."

The adjutant agreed.

*

Aso Ment disliked coming to the capital planet, and he disliked hypocritical politicians and aloof nobles.

It's a bit unreasonable that she hasn't gone back to report on her work for many years, and this year the Ministry of Finance wants her to attend and explain the monopolistic behavior of one of her companies.

The emperor also asked her to come to the capital planet to resolve these issues and avoid giving others cause for criticism.

She never expected to run into an old friend on her very first day back.

The connection between people is so wonderful that even after many years of no contact, a reunion can evoke a familiar atmosphere.

At that moment, Aso Ment walked out of the Treasury's interrogation room, shaking his hand and looking impatient.

They bumped into Jiang Sili, who was holding the budget for the next quarter. It was a rare opportunity to see these army commanders, and the Ministry of Finance was determined to give the budget a good talking-to.

Jiang Sili hasn't changed much; he still doesn't like wearing combat uniforms.

Her long hair had grown back, and she tied it into a half-bun at the back of her head, wearing a pair of non-prescription glasses that dangled with tiny diamond sparkles.

"Ah..." Aso Ment was stunned for a moment, "It's you! Long time no see!"

Her tone carried a joy and excitement that she herself was unaware of.

"Long time no see." Jiang Sili came back to see her, after all, he contacted the young duke yesterday to ask him to find out if Aso Ment would be coming back this time.

He smiled sincerely and moved closer to her.

In that instant of getting close, he couldn't help but reach out his hands to pull her into his arms.

But Aso Ment was too tall and stronger than him, which was a bit of a challenge.

Aso Ment didn't move; she was somewhat dazed.

It wasn't until Jiang Sili distanced himself from her that he looked at her with tender affection in his eyes.

She only realized it belatedly.

As Jiang Sili stepped back to create more distance, Aso Ment grabbed his sleeve, just like when he was handcuffed years ago: "Want to go out for a drink?"

"Now?"

It was still daytime on the capital star, with the sun shining brightly.

Although the two senior military officers were not on official business, they still had to go to the military academy to give lectures and provide guidance to the students. Occasionally, when His Majesty the Emperor arranged for them to go to the capital planet's army to carry out missions.

“Who cares about them?” Aso Ment blinked, brushed a stray hair from her forehead, and whispered in his ear, “Come to my place. I bought a big apartment on the capital planet.”

Jiang Sili slightly widened her eyes.

*

When I woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

The sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was intense, illuminating the two bodies covered by a thin blanket. They were young, radiant, and full of energy.

Both of them have already experienced it fully.

Jiang Sili covered her eyes with her hands to avoid the glaring sunlight.

The room was filled with the mixed smells of various liquids, the most prominent being the various scents of alcohol.

The room was filled with wines from various origins, producers, and flavors.

The other scent is quite subtle; it is cleverly hidden behind the alcohol and is a secret that cannot be spoken aloud.

At the foot of the bed was a tangled mess of clothes, it was impossible to tell whose they were.

The Gu Diao and Teng She were entwined together, nestled on the clothes, fast asleep.

Their clothes were soaking wet; it's amazing they could even sleep there.

He stretched out his long arm, landed under the bed, and retrieved the terminal that had been forgotten for a long time.

Hundreds of messages popped up on the terminal.

Most of the cries came from the adjutants, starting with wailing: "Boss, where did you go?! I heard you and General Ment disappeared together?! What are you two doing? Did you fight? All these years of grudges should be put aside, don't be impulsive, boss! Help! Infighting among officers is a serious violation of discipline!"

Later, things calmed down: "Boss, whatever you're doing, just send me a message to put my mind at ease." I can't possibly not even have time to reply; I'm being bombarded with questions, and it's really awkward for me to be here alone.

Until finally, in utter despair: Will I ever see you return to the G11? Are you planning to marry into the family?

Jiang Sili glanced at the time, not needing to look at any other information. He threw the terminal aside and covered his face.

I was equally heartbroken.

A woman chuckled softly, a fragrance emanating from her. She slowly approached Jiang Sili, her fingertips calloused as she gently touched his abdomen.

Jiang Sili is not someone who pays particular attention to exercising. He has muscles, but they are not obvious, unlike those muscular men who are as strong as a mountain, whose muscles can bulge when they exert force, like some kind of mutated frog.

Asso Ment just didn't like that type either. She hated testosterone-fueled men; they were too aggressive and always reminded her of her murderer father.

She likes gentle and kind men, not pretentious scoundrels, but normal men who can truly understand others.

"No..." Her hand moved lower and lower until it touched... Jiang Sili finally couldn't help but speak, but her voice was terribly hoarse.

"Don't you like it?" Aso Ment rolled over onto him, her fluffy blonde hair falling over his face, tickling him. Her chest was soft, and she deliberately pressed down until she was pressed against his chest. "I wasn't the one who initiated it yesterday."

yesterday.

What happened yesterday?

He followed Aso Ment home as if possessed, watching her mix extremely strong drinks with no regard for what was appropriate.

By the end, the spirit body no longer wanted to exert itself, and both spirit bodies escaped, ignoring their master.

What did the two talk about?

When talking about their confrontation back then, the story has been circulated that Aso Ment chased him into the Starry Vortex, fought him, and subdued him.

They talked about their battlefield experiences and promotions over the years.

They talked about what they had done over the years.

Aso Mente had a turbulent childhood. To protect her, the government changed her name four times and moved her seven times, completely severing her ties with her past.

Therefore, she longed for a safe and stable home, but military life was destined to be anything but stable.

So she bought houses everywhere, a large single-level apartment, a villa, or a duplex in each place. Perhaps because of the poor living conditions she experienced as a child, she also preferred large houses.

Through the swaying wine glass, their faces were distorted. Without the help of their spiritual bodies, the alcohol was broken down more slowly, and both of them were slightly tipsy.

“Buying houses in every place…” Jiang Sili murmured. “Will I also settle down in every place? And will I bring people home like I do now?”

Aso Ment didn't speak. She moved her cup away, and then moved Jiang Sili's cup away as well. Her face was flushed, and her voice was as loud as ever, enunciating each word clearly: "Do you... care?"

She tilted her head, mischievous and mocking.

Jiang Sili pursed her lips.

"If you care, why haven't you contacted me or reached out to me all these years?"

Jiang Sili couldn't answer her question; he was too timid.

Disappointed, Aso Ment took back his glass, only to have it snatched away by Jiang Sili the next second.

He held her tightly, pressing his face close to hers.

The two embraced and kissed passionately.

The terminal was too noisy, so the two of them muted it all, and no one paid attention to what messages were coming in on the terminal.

It was as if only the two of them remained in the world.

They fooled around until late at night again.

While taking a bath, Jiang Sili finally remembered the terminal he had abandoned. The last message on the terminal was from his poor adjutant: Boss, you really embarrassed me.

Jiang Sili finally replied to the poor man: He'll be back tomorrow. Go and get the budget and reports sorted out first.

The adjutant replied almost instantly: Oh, you still remember there's this performance review thing? I'm telling you, you go by yourself tomorrow. I'm not going to embarrass myself.

Jiang Sili replied: Okay, send me the document, I'll go there myself tomorrow.

He is completely unresponsive to reason.

He could almost picture his adjutant rolling his eyes behind the terminal.

The bathtub is big enough for two people to swim in; Asso Ment has never been stingy with his enjoyment.

She surfaced from the water, soaking wet: "Shall we go together tomorrow? Or should we go separately?"

She did it on purpose.

Jiang Sili smiled and lowered her eyes: "Let's go together."

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Author's note: I will update a long chapter at 11 pm tomorrow night, telling the whole story of the two of them.