Chapter 187 Avoiding Stress Responses

The assault ship that appeared out of nowhere had its armor almost completely peeled off.

The engine was still smoking, looking like a pile of crushed scrap metal.

"Ning Shuyin!"

"Ning Shuyin!"

Almost simultaneously, four beams of light shot out from different directions, vying to lock onto the teetering silver assault ship.

"Do you want to tear it to pieces? Let go!" Situ Linchen roared in the combat channel.

Both the Phantom and the Court of Usurpation wisely turned off their traction signals.

As the massive hull of the Starship approached and was about to deploy its capture net, the nearly disintegrated silver assault ship slid toward the Panacea.

Situ Linchen: "..."

Zhou Zhiheng: "Hmph."

Caesar: "Ha."

Situ Linchen was so concerned that he forgot that this assault ship was originally separated from Loran's ship.

The Panacea has the highest priority homing command.

"Oh."

A very soft, cold laugh came from the communication channel.

"If you don't want to see her turn into a corpse in mid-air, get out of the way."

The hangar hatch opened, catching the battered little spaceship safely. Then, the silver-white research vessel, its exhaust plume shooting out, sped towards the Royal Hospital at top speed.

The Starship, the Phantom, and the Court of Usurpation, these three top-tier Alliance aircraft, lined up obediently like lackeys, following the Panacea.

...

Royal Hospital A, top floor ward.

Heavily armed guards, Zhou's private bodyguards, and strangely dressed crew members from outside the industry surrounded the area.

On the light screen in the corridor, a notification to lift the alliance's highest security alert is being played on a loop.

The nurses passing by didn't dare to breathe.

Inside the ward, Ning Shuyin was leaning back on the hospital bed.

She hadn't changed out of her tattered combat uniform yet; her face was covered in grime, and her hair was disheveled and plastered to her face.

Lorraine was standing by the bed, scanning her condition with a pen in her hand.

"Your condition is stable; you just need to take some energy supplements."

Ning Shuyin showed no joy at surviving a disaster, and her eyes were barely moved.

She merely glanced at the three men.

The way they looked at her was unusually clear and calm. She was certain that all their goodwill towards her had been deducted.

Thinking of the "withdrawal symptoms" that the system had once explained to her, and recalling Lorraine's extreme behavior in that elevator car, she shuddered and reminded herself that she had to be careful.

"Ning Shuyin." Situ Linchen's throat tightened. He walked to the bedside, wanting to reach out and touch her.

Ning Shuyin had just thought of the system again, and the mischievous mechanical voice that always nagged in her ear made her heart ache again.

Sadness was written all over her face; she turned slightly to the side, trying to hide the expression on her face.

This movement just caused her shoulder to miss Situ Linchen's outstretched hand.

Situ Linchen felt as if he had been stabbed, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand. He quickly suppressed the trace of tenderness in his eyes.

He immediately adjusted his expression, his face becoming serious: "Although it's inappropriate to ask this now, as the Alliance Marshal, I'd like to know how you detonated the Dark Sphere?"

Ning Shuyin lowered her eyes, avoiding his somewhat piercing gaze.

“It was Professor Gure’s analysis,” she said in a weak voice. “He said it was very similar to the devouring energy in ancient civilization texts and analyzed some possible weaknesses.”

She wasn't lying; the weaknesses of the Dark Orb and how to destroy it were all told to her by Gu Lei.

Although it has a bit of an omniscient perspective, it doesn't seem out of place for Gure, the occult scholar, to give this information.

Situ Linchen seemed to want to ask something more.

Caesar interrupted him.

His gaze swept around the ward: "Little guy, where's your ice sculpture servant?"

Ning Shuyin's eyes flickered when Klose was mentioned.

Loran also gave her an inquiring look. When the assault ship set off, Kross had accompanied her, but she returned alone.

Could it be that this prince... perished while protecting her?

Ning Shuyin sensed the suspicion in Loran's heart. She also knew that once these men regained their senses, they would inevitably develop new fears or thoughts of exploiting Kross's existence.

How could they possibly let a prince from an enemy tribe stay by her side as a servant?

Her commands to him would inevitably be used against the machine race. First and foremost, he would have to be imprisoned.

Ning Shuyin pursed her lips: "My master-servant relationship with him expired, and he left."

The four men reacted differently upon hearing this.

But none of them lacked solemnity.

The mechanical race was already a great threat, and the prince's return, which ended that humiliating master-servant agreement, could easily lead to further retaliation.

Ning Shuyin did not tell the truth.

She couldn't tell them about what Cloos was going to do, the hidden reasons behind it, or her choices.

Before she makes a real choice, the most important thing is to keep these four men calm.

Now that she no longer has the system to rely on and her combat strength is low, she can't withstand their stress response.

"Um, I'm a little dizzy and want to sleep for a while, is that okay?" she said softly, glancing pitifully at the people in the room.

With a snap.

Loran pressed the examination pen back onto the instrument panel next to him.

He stood up and effectively dismissed her: "Her heart rate is still a bit fast, and this is the emergency room. Or do you all think that interrogating a hero who just came back from the brink of death is more important than her life?"

Since Lorraine had gone this far, it was indeed inappropriate for the three men to remain here any longer.

Their gazes lingered on Ning Shuyin's pale face for a few more moments before they prepared to leave.

However, the way they looked at Loran was extremely unfriendly.

After all, Loran and she had almost fallen out before the auction in Shadow Abyss.

Now, inexplicably, she has gained the upper hand again.

They all secretly wondered what tricks Loran had used.

Just then, Ning Shuyin's personal computer vibrated.

An invitation popped up.

[Joint Statement from the Auer and Su families: A grand engagement party for Olma & Su Qianqian will be held in three days at the Tartarus resort planet! You are cordially invited to attend.]

“How could this be…” Ning Shuyin gripped the bed sheet nervously.

She opened Su Qianqian's contacts directly, only to find that her friend was offline.

Loran was close enough to catch a glimpse of the complete message.

Caesar, with his sharp eyes, spotted the words "Vacation Star" in the distance.

Zhou Zhiheng and Situ Linchen both saw Ning Shuyin anxiously trying to contact Su Qianqian without success.

"Could you please leave first? I need to rest," Ning Shuyin said again.

The four of them gave up.

The atmosphere outside the corridor was somewhat chilly.

Caesar replied casually, "Tartarus? That's my territory."

His figure blurred and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Zhou Zhiheng straightened his cuffs. He hadn't said a word since the moment he saw her again. His hand, inside his trouser pocket, clenched a round, shimmering crystal.

He seemed to have confirmed something before dialing Amanda's number.

Situ Linchen stood by the window.

His personal computer message list had exploded, overflowing with follow-up reports on this crisis.

"Mu Ze, check Su Qianqian's leave application. I need to confirm her real-time location."

Only Loran looked relaxed.

He had just met Gu Lei today and was already 99% sure he knew the truth about the matter.

Under the watchful eyes of the bodyguards, Loran reopened the hospital room door that had just been closed. She slipped inside and locked it behind her.

With a click.

Hearing the door locked from the inside, Ning Shuyin looked up nervously: "Luo Lan? What are you going to do?"