Chapter 76: Entangled

Chris kept his promise. After training that night, he returned to the dormitory and had a video call with Nuhra to tell him about this matter... But Chris was a little worried that what he promised Tim would affect the overall situation.

"I really wanted to leave at the time, but seeing him like that, I couldn't bear it..." With a wry smile, Corris held his forehead and mentioned this to Nuhra on the other end of the terminal. "Brother, I'm not in any trouble, am I?"

"It's okay. You've done what you could..." Nuhra sat in his study, a rare moment without work, chatting wholeheartedly with Kris. His expression was indifferent, his golden eyes reflecting a gentle, soft light under the warm light. "We were right not to hastily agree to Jax's request. His brother is probably in grave danger. Even if he's still alive, we have no way of investigating his condition. No one can give Tim Jax a firm guarantee."

"I'll keep an eye on the people under investigation. I'll tell Samantha about it. As for her plans, I have no idea." Nuhra shrugged, her tone relaxed. "Don't feel too burdened. This matter shouldn't have been your responsibility. Jax only came to take advantage of your kindness and our relationship. Just be clear on your conscience."

Chris nodded wearily and didn't say anything else. He wasn't one to refuse anyone, and he always said one thing and meant another. He had just said he didn't want to do it, but in the end, driven by guilt, he helped a little in exchange for peace of mind.

Nuhra noticed that he was in a bad mood, so she changed the subject and asked about Chris's training: "How was your practice today?" Chris cheered up and reported his situation to Nuhra in detail... Speaking of firearms training, he suddenly remembered something: "Brother, when you were in class today, you didn't deliberately call on my name to answer questions, did you? And your last question..." As he spoke, Chris's face showed a hint of resentment.

Nuhra laughed heartily and admitted it straightforwardly: "It's been a while since you were last called on. As a professor, I still have to pay attention to my students' performance in class."

Chris sneered without comment, not believing Nuhra's high-sounding explanation... Nuhra just thought he was cute and funny, very interesting.

Thinking of Chris's tense and vigilant expression when they first met, Nuhra even felt a little dazed. Although their relationship is no longer affected by the contract, Nuhra has not forgotten the conditions they agreed on at the beginning of their marriage - such as Chris's proposal to become an assistant teacher.

"How are you preparing now? Are you confident that you can become my assistant coach?" Nuhra gazed at Chris in the camera gently, and rarely mentioned the matter in a roundabout way.

Chris shook his head and sighed: "I'm not going to think too much now. I'll just do my best. Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on my ability... Oh, and maybe a little luck." This didn't sound very ambitious, but it was broad-minded enough.

Nuhra nodded approvingly: "It's good that you think so. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." He knew that Chris wanted to prove himself, but Nuhra still felt that Chris had enough responsibilities on his shoulders and did not need to add any additional burden.

Chris replied softly with a "hmm", and they tacitly stopped talking about things related to work and study, and talked about other things casually... They chatted back and forth for nearly an hour, and it was getting late, so they ended the video call reluctantly.

"Wait for you to come home." Before the picture completely disappeared, Nuhra smiled as usual and left a last light-hearted word.

A warm feeling welled up in his heart, and Chris finally smiled sincerely. He also said, "Wait until I get home."

Chris didn't have classes tomorrow, but he had to go to the training hall for duty, so he had to go to bed and get up early to get some rest. The work at the training hall wasn't very technical; he just had to patrol the venue and check the operation of various systems.

To be honest, in his recent battle of wits and courage with the madman Said, Chris felt quite calm. He didn't understand why this man always wanted to pick a fight with him, and every time he pricked him lightly, he persisted and took Chris's unhappiness as his happiness.

Corris did not sleep well that night, and was trapped in all kinds of bizarre and strange dreams all night. One moment, Nuhra and he announced their identities in a live broadcast throughout the empire, and the next moment, he was alone and helpless in a sea of ​​fire... In short, it was as terrifying as it could be.

When the alarm clock rang in the morning, Chris had slept for more than an hour. He wanted to cry but had no tears. He really didn't want to get up, so he took another nap while sitting on the bed. Until the alarm clock rang for the second time, he got up from the bed like a wandering soul and washed up with a sense of despair.

Like a programmed robot, Chris mechanically finished his breakfast, went downstairs, and took the shuttle bus... He arrived at the second training hall, got off the shuttle bus, and floated into the hall manager's office. Only the supervisor Rohansen was sitting there, and the number one threat, Said, did not appear.

Rohansen was leisurely drinking tea at his post. When he saw Chris come in, he coughed awkwardly twice, put down his teacup, and put on a friendly face: "Oh, Chris is here. Let's take a break and go on patrol. Said is already in position."

When Corris heard the name, he almost got goosebumps physiologically, but his expression remained calm. He put his things away properly and walked directly into the training hall according to his usual patrol route.

As he walked, he had to be on guard against Sayid jumping out from any corner... Chris was really exhausted from his part-time job. He secretly made up his mind to quit as soon as the semester was over!

The corridor had come to an end. Kris stopped and was about to turn around to walk back, but he felt a cylindrical object pressed against his lower back. He recognized without thinking that there was a pistol against his lower back!

Instantly, Kris was filled with the fear of death. He quickly calmed down and tried to do something to escape the situation. However, the man with the gun behind him saw through him and whispered a threat, "I advise you not to act rashly."

There was no way Corris wouldn't recognize this voice! It was Sayid!

Corris calmed down and still tried to negotiate with him: "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

Said coiled around him like a venomous snake, breathing viciously behind Corris's ear: "I have to ask you this. I didn't have this idea originally... Now, you must follow me."

Chris knew very well that Said was an extremely uncertain factor. The only way now was to obey him and then find a way to get rid of him safely.

Seth didn't give him time to hesitate, and roughly pushed him into a room that was in a blind spot of the surveillance camera. The room was pitch black, and Kris was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Just as he was about to stand up, the black barrel of the gun was mercilessly pressed against Kris's forehead.

"Back off and stay where you are. I can't guarantee that this gun won't go off accidentally." Said's voice was lazy and ruthless. He enjoyed the moment when Corris was in trouble in front of him.

After a quick and careful assessment of the situation, Kris decided to listen to Said. He was now hoping that the health monitoring system that Nuhra had installed on the terminal would detect that he was in danger...

Said was familiar with the place; he had undoubtedly been here many times before and knew the furnishings of this mysterious room like the back of his hand. He didn't need to turn on the lights, having already adapted to the dim environment. Like a vulture sizing up its prey, he circled around Corris without making a sound.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let's chat for a while," Said said leisurely to the anxious Chris in front of him. "For the sake of our being colleagues, I won't let you die."

Kris closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and kept repeating to himself: Calm down, calm down... When he opened his eyes again, his rapid breathing gradually subsided, but he could still hear Kris's breathing rate was different from usual. "What are you talking about?"

"Talk about who you met yesterday, your past, someone we both know, and the date of your death." Said pulled out a chair from somewhere and sat down in front of Curris, with the barrel of the gun always pointed steadily at Curris.

At this dangerous moment, Chris's mind became clearer. Since Said said "let's talk", it meant he still had a chance to maneuver... Chris responded in a deep voice without hesitation: "What do you want to know?"

He couldn't figure out why Said suddenly attacked him because he met Tim Jax yesterday. Could it be that Said was part of the network of relationships in the "Rui Lei Si" incident?

"I want to know what you said to that coward?" There was a strong contempt in Sayid's tone when he mentioned Tim. He didn't seem to want to ask about this matter. It was just a routine matter.

Kris hesitated for a moment, not wanting to reveal Tim's request, and said vaguely, "He came to thank me, that's all."

"How long can you say just one sentence? When you left, you didn't look like you were thanked." Said must have spied on the whole thing yesterday. He could tell that Chris wasn't telling the truth. His voice took on a sickening softness, and he nodded Chris's head with the barrel of his gun. "Chris, don't lie to me. Although I won't kill you now, I can't guarantee that you'll leave this room intact."

Chris was silent for a while, with only the sound of his own violent heartbeat in his ears... Chris knew that from this moment on, he had to concentrate on every word Said said to avoid really angering him.

"He wants me to help him find his brother, that's all." Kris' throat tightened as he shouted out the words with all his might. In the darkness, he didn't see the slightly raised eyebrows of Said.

Said didn't speak immediately. Kris guessed that he was trying to assess the truth of Kris's words. He decided to put more pressure on him: "If you don't believe me, you can always find a way to retrieve the surveillance footage from the rest area."

Chris's mind came to life. This question might just be an insignificant adjustment to ensure whether Chris would cooperate with him... After all, if Sayid wanted to verify who Chris met and what he said yesterday, he could use his position to investigate.

"You've passed." Said smiled sinisterly, a strange laugh that made your teeth ache. "Next question, do you know your past?"

Chris's back was soaked with cold sweat. He didn't understand what Sayid wanted to hear from him, nor did he know how to answer, because no one knew that the original Chris had been replaced by someone else, and now his memory was not complete.

Chris remained silent, worried that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he would make, and he was also prepared for Sayid to suddenly jump up and shoot him.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Sayid taunted him, "Speaking of the cowards in Jax's family, you and he are quite similar... Didn't you both take the same medicine?"

"That's interesting to say. In this regard, you're considered his senior..." Said went crazy, constantly belittling Corris to irritate him. "Test Subject Zero, I still prefer you lying on the ground half-dead."

Experiment Zero? This was a completely unfamiliar term to Kress. Was he referring to the original owner? He remained silent, and this uncooperative attitude irritated Sayde. He lashed Kress's face with his gun. Kress's cheek suddenly felt like it was on fire, burning with pain, and he fell to the ground sideways.

"Speak." Said aimed the gun at Cris again and looked down at Cris who was shaking in pain on the ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Kris's teeth chattered and he spat out a mouthful of blood foam. Although the pain made his nerves throb, he was still unwilling to let out any cry of pain.

Said sneered, and the barrel of the gun gently lifted up Curris's face. Curris was forced to look into those dull and unfocused black eyes, unable to retreat or break free.

"Since you say you don't know, let's change the subject." Said quickly changed his expression and brought up another topic in a very friendly manner: "Does Nuhra know that his boyfriend was the first experimental subject to take Relex?"

When he first heard Nuhra's name, Chris trembled all over. When he heard the rest of Said's words, he was even more shocked. The original owner was actually the first person to take Relisi. Could it be that the original Chris had a flight accident because of this?

So, who was it that mixed ricin with the food given to Chris in the car when he first crossed over? And why?

Furthermore, how did Sayid know about the relationship between Kris and Nuhra? Questions kept piling up, and Kris felt like his brain was about to explode. On one hand, there was the pain that was constantly tugging at his nerves, and on the other hand, there were all kinds of shocking news... He couldn't handle it all.

"What kind of test subject? I really don't know." Kris was genuinely confused and tried to convince Said of his explanation. "I lost some of my memory in the plane crash... I've forgotten a lot of things from the past."

Seth also knew that the teaching accident that happened to Kris was very serious. Kris had been recuperating for several months before returning to the academy. Just in case, Seth said something inexplicable to test Kris's reaction: "Do you know Doctor No. 1?"

Chris knew nothing about it and shook his head weakly. His puzzled expression did not seem fake. No matter how reluctant Seth was, he had to start to believe that Chris had really lost his memory.

"You are quite lucky. This gives you a chance to get close to Nuhra." Said sneered at the relationship between Chris and Nuhra. Maybe in his eyes, Chris was a gigolo kept by Nuhra.

Corris keenly noticed that every time Said mentioned Nuhra's name, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He took the opportunity to turn the tables and forcibly interrupted Said: "You used to know Nuhra, right? The person you mentioned that we all know, is him?"

Said found this brat more and more interesting. He stared at Corris with interest: "Your life is in my hands, how dare you interrupt me?"

Corris looked calm. He knew that Seide didn't hit him again and was definitely interested in this topic. "What do you want to know?"

"Did he fuck you, or did you fuck him?" Said started to spew out vulgar, unbearable words. "Did Nuhra ever tell you he was a fatherless, motherless bastard? Oh, and did he tell you he killed a lot of his former friends and family?"

Corris ignored Said's malicious put-downs and focused instead on the last sentence: "Nuhra's former friends and family"? Considering Nuhra's past as a space pirate, Said likely knew Nuhra when he was still a space pirate. Who was this person?

Nuhra rarely mentioned her past as a space pirate to him. For a moment, Chris was really confused about who this person was who was full of malice towards Nuhra, but who was always paying attention to him? He was actually related to the Rui Leisi case...

Kris took a gamble and whispered, "You were his friend from the pirate days, right? You hate him because you feel he's done something wrong to you."

Thrilled by Curris's words, Sayde shot him! Fortunately, Curris had been on guard and rolled on the ground, barely dodging the attack... Before he could even lament his survival, Sayde grabbed Curris like a chicken and slammed him against the wall. "What do you know?! You're just a dog crawling under him! You and I are exactly the same. If he knew about you, do you think you'd still be together?"

Kris laughed, a hearty laugh. His bet had been right… Kris was practically choking with laughter. Every word he spoke was playful yet poignant: “You’re jealous of me… Jealous that I can still stand by his side, and in a position even closer than you were before.”

For the first time, Sayid felt a certain fear towards Corris. This young boy, who was still wet behind the ears, could see through the long-standing resentment in his heart so quickly.

Chris was still saying: "Thank you for reminding me, I really remembered, are you the lunatic he mentioned, who has different ideas from him and has parted ways with him... Hmm!" He wanted to say more, but was hit in the stomach by a heavy punch from Sayid, and he saw stars and couldn't say anything.

Curris fell to the ground like a broken bird. Not feeling satisfied enough, Sayid kicked Curris in the stomach several times with a rage. He was so angry that he wanted to shoot again, but there was a loud noise outside the door, followed by the explosion of glass in the doors and windows, and bursts of shouting came from outside the window.

"Bandits in the house, please put down your weapons immediately and ensure the safety of the hostages! Put down your weapons immediately and ensure the safety of the hostages..." Reinforcements arrived, and Corris could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He lay on the cold ground and his mind was clear for a moment.

Said was also affected by this sudden change and woke up from his previous state of rage. He knew that he could not die here. He ignored the hostage Cris in front of him and prepared to escape, but Cris, who was lying on the ground without knowing whether he was alive or dead, held his ankle tightly.

Corris exhaled with difficulty, blood coming out of the corner of his mouth, but his words had never been so clear: "There is one more question... When will I die?" Said got goose bumps in broad daylight, all because Corris looked like a Shura devil crawling out of a pile of corpses.

Seid was shocked and frightened, and didn't want to get entangled anymore, so he kicked Chris in the chest, hoping that Chris would let go out of pain. Unexpectedly, Chris refused to let go, as if he was determined to hold him back.

"Let me go!" Said was a little anxious. He turned around and shot Chris, then stretched out his legs with all his strength, trying his best to break free from Chris's hand... The people outside were about to score a goal, and he didn't have much time left!

The moment the rescue team outside opened the door, Sayid hurled a smoke bomb and escaped through an unknown path. Kris lay on the ground, aching all over, unable to move, his eyelids half closed, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice, anxiously and heartbreakingly calling his name... Kris's last memory was of himself falling asleep peacefully in a familiar embrace.

Corris slept alone in the dark for a long time, so long that he thought he was still confronting Said in the room of the training hall, and no one came to save him.

From time to time, he could feel a pair of warm hands caressing his face and hands, and someone pleading with him to wake up over and over in his ear.

A faint light seeped in from outside the ward and fell softly on Corris's closed eyes. His eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, meeting the eyes of Nuhra, who looked much more haggard.

He couldn't speak loudly. Every breath he took was filled with the pain from the beating. His throat was dry and hoarse. "How long... have I been sleeping?"

Nuhra held Corris's hand tightly, as if she had grasped his whole world again: "One day and one night...baby, you slept too long."

Corris smiled faintly, trying to comfort Nuhra: "I'm fine now..."

Nuhra put his cheek against Chris's hand and sighed, "I'm really scared, scared of you..." He was used to life and death, but at this time he couldn't say that ominous word to Chris.

After waking up, Chris wanted to inquire about Said's condition, but was blocked by Nuhra on the grounds that he needed to rest. Nuhra said: "Now is not the time to worry about these things. What you need to do is to recover well."

Facing Nuhra, who had a serious and slightly frightened look on her face, Chris had no choice but to lie in bed and recuperate.

During the journey, Chris's parents heard about this from somewhere and wanted to come to visit Chris, but were rejected by Nuhra... He was now overprotective of Chris and would never allow anyone to hurt Chris again. As they were highly suspicious, the Narr couple had no chance to get close to Chris.

In addition, Kris's friends also came to visit him with gifts. Under Kris's constant persuasion, Nuhra gave them the greatest degree of trust and took the initiative to walk outside the ward, giving Kris and his friends some space to talk.

As soon as Chris saw his friends, he couldn't help but apologize: "I'm sorry, I can't take part in the assessment in this condition." He was still thinking about the assessment next week, but with Chris's physical condition, even if he recovered quickly, he would have no chance of catching up with the assessment.

Margaret's beautiful eyebrows frowned in disapproval when she heard this. "It's already this late, just take care of your injuries... Leave the assessment to us."

"Yeah," Ian said, sitting on the sofa nearby. "Such a big thing is happening in the academy right now. The National Guard and the Royal Guard have both been deployed. The academy is in chaos... and it's so relaxing here."

At this moment, Joan, who always cared about the training situation, was more aware of what Corris was thinking. "You signed up to be an assistant teacher. Let's see if we can find a way to take the test on your behalf."

Chris was truly open-minded at this point. "Forget it. I'm in such a bad shape now that I can barely go to class, let alone be a teaching assistant. The best I can do is help Nuhra with some chores. I'd better leave it to the other students."

Joan shrugged noncommittally and said indifferently, "It's up to you." Although Joan was the one who put a lot of effort into the assessment, she was not bothered by the fact that there was one less person in the group before the exam.

Lauren had been standing aside, looking at Chris who was sitting on the hospital bed with a worried and sad expression: "I'm glad you're okay... I really don't know how that person got in?" He was talking about Said.

Speaking of Said, Chris couldn't help but ask about his whereabouts: "Has the suspect been caught?" Two days ago, people from the Royal Guard questioned Chris under the close surveillance of Nuhra. Chris told him everything that happened at that time, but he didn't know whether Said was caught.

Ian shook his head and replied to Chris, "No news. The college has blocked this matter. There is no trace of it online. The matter was spread by word of mouth among students, but this discussion was quickly suppressed. No one dares to mention it openly at the moment."

"Okay..." Chris had no choice but to calm down and talk to his friends about other things. They stayed in the ward for half an hour. In the end, Margaret was more sensible and took the lead in saying goodbye. The others followed suit, and Chris finally watched them leave.

They seemed to run into Nuhra who was guarding the door. As students, they greeted Nuhra respectfully and exchanged a few words before leaving... Nuhra entered the door, followed by Dr. Lovey, whom they had met once before.

"Hi, how are you today?" During this hospitalization, Lovi, as Kris's attending physician, came to make rounds every day and had a close relationship with Kris.

"I feel fine." Kris smiled at Lovi and said lightly. Nuhra walked silently to Kris's side and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

Lowe checked the parameters on the medical equipment. Chris's recovery was indeed good... He nodded and said, "It's indeed very good. If there are no problems, he will be able to be discharged before the end of next week."

"Okay, I won't stay here any longer. Someone will come to change your medicine later... If I stay here any longer, I'm afraid someone will poke a hole through me." After Lovi finished speaking, he gave a few instructions and slipped away without stopping.

Chris knew that Lovi was talking about Nuhra, so he could only smile helplessly, touched Nuhra's hand on his shoulder, and quietly pinched Nuhra's warm fingertips.

After Kris told the Royal Guards about his experience that day, he and Nuhra finally had a chance to talk about it all, and Kris told her that he was very likely involved in the Reilly experiment.

Because of what Said said, he was also worried whether Nuhra could accept this... Unexpectedly, Nuhra looked very calm: "Yes, I understand."

"Is that so?" Chris asked in surprise.

"What else do you want to hear?" Nuhra raised the corner of her mouth slightly, looking at Chris seriously, "Am I terrified and ready to break up with you? Or do I feel deeply betrayed and want to divorce you immediately? Honey, this is really nothing."

Nuhra remained calm and said, "We have no way of verifying what Said said, but I will investigate... Until then, I trust you unconditionally. Even if you were involved, I believe you had your reasons."

"But I really don't remember these things..." Chris was a little melancholy. He really had no memory of this incident, but Chris's intuition told him that what Said said was probably true.

"Then forget about it." Nuhra came to a simple and rough conclusion. After experiencing this disaster, he just wanted Chris to stay safely by his side. The desire to protect and control that he had suppressed for a long time finally prevailed.

"Well, let's consider this matter over for now." Corris adjusted his position on the hospital bed and finally brought up what he wanted to say the most: "Brother, did you know this Said from the Star Pirates?"

Nuhra's expression was filled with deep anger. He replied in a deep voice, "I know him. His real name is Sered... Remember what I told you before? He was the one who competed with me for the leadership position."

"There's nothing much to say to him. We used to be friends who supported each other, but that friendship has long since faded," Nuhra explained clearly. "He said I assaulted my former friends and family... but he showed no mercy to anyone who followed me either. This is a common tactic Sered uses, to portray himself as a victim."

"In my eyes, since we have already gone our separate ways, we should each go our own way... I can guarantee that if he could beat me, he would have found a way to destroy me and the Seventh Army long ago," Nuhra said with an indifferent expression and a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Chris could understand what Nuhra said. If he were in the same position and met a former teammate who was now a rival with whom he had a disagreement, and both of them wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, Chris himself would not be soft-hearted.

What's more, he is not a good saint. After what Sered did to him, Coris would not have the slightest sympathy for this man. Now he talked about this matter just to understand Nuhra's attitude.

As a person who traveled through time, he didn't have much affection for the Empire or the pirates. The only anchor point for Corris in this world was Nuhra... In other words, he only cared about Nuhra.

Seeing that Nuhra was really unhappy, Corris wanted to tease her: "By the way, he seems to be very jealous of me..."

"Jealous?" Nuhra didn't understand why Chris said that.

Corris asked Nuhra to come closer to him, and whispered into Nuhra's ear as if he was about to tell her a shocking secret: "I think he might like you a little bit, too."

In order to prove his point, Chris vividly described the situation when Sered confronted him. Unexpectedly, when Nuhra heard it, his handsome face became darker and darker.

At this point, could Nuhra not understand what Corris meant? He leaned on the edge of the bed with his hands, bent over with lightning speed, and kissed Corris's lips hatefully.

Koris obediently allowed Nuhra to suppress him until he could no longer bear it and then reached out to push him away. Nuhra was always concerned about Koris's injuries and would immediately let go as soon as Koris resisted.

"I don't like Sered at all. I don't know what he's thinking... To be honest, I feel a little disgusted." Even Nuhra, who has a good ability to accept things, was speechless after hearing this. He solemnly declared to Kris, confessing his feelings: "Kris, I have only loved you from the beginning to the end, and from now on, I will only love you."

Chris couldn't hide the smile on his face. He admitted that he was a little jealous, but Nuhra comforted him well.

"Well, Admiral Nuhra who is feeling sick, do you need me to comfort you?" After the kiss just now, Chris felt a little bit addicted and licked his lips subconsciously.

Nuhra was stunned for a moment, then revealed a gentle smile like water: "I couldn't ask for more."

They kissed again in the room full of flowing light and broken gold, celebrating their reunion after surviving the disaster.

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The author has something to say: [Glasses] If I write more than 8,000 words every day, I might be able to finish it in ten days (nonsense). This is too difficult for someone like me with a slow hand, but I will give it a try, just in case haha...