Chapter 79
From the moment she received the news to the moment she rushed to the scene, Rachel ran at the fastest speed in her life.
But before they could rush over to support, there was a loud bang, and everything in front of them was blown up into the sky -!
The magnificent and majestic building was instantly reduced to ruins. When the shock and horror gradually faded away, terrible wails and cries for help were heard from inside, like a scene from hell.
"Quick! Go in and save the insects!"
He roared and rushed in immediately. He ran to the place he remembered and searched desperately for a long time before he found Hillzer and Ogsger under a stone slab.
In the darkness, the miserable state of the female soldier was almost unbearable to watch. If it weren't for her faint breathing, Rachel would have thought she was dead.
"Bai Lang! Come over and give me a hand!"
Ogsger was protected in time and his injuries were not serious.
He used all his strength to push the female soldier who was pressing on him up, and ordered in a sharp voice, "It's not safe here, take him away first!"
Rachel shuddered, and suddenly thought of something, "Who planned this explosion?"
Ogsger looked at him with a dusty face, but still did not say the name he had called for decades. He clenched his hands on the ground suddenly.
The young prince, who had just faced life and death and finally figured everything out, had his anger completely ignited in his eyes, and his expression was cold and resolute as he clenched his teeth.
“This farce should have ended long ago.”
He wanted to advance step by step, step by step to the top position, but there were always crazy idiots who messed everything up.
If we still adhere to any moral order now, we would be really cowardly and stupid.
"Let Hilzer rest and recuperate. He doesn't have to worry about these things until he is fully recovered... This is a small reward for his desperate protection. We can think of other things later."
Ogsger stood up and watched Bai Lang carry the female insect on his back, then picked up the scepter that was broken into two pieces and walked towards the center of the explosion step by step.
…
Tick.
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
The sound of blood dripping came and went, not noticeable amid the chaos and the roar of the accelerator, but in Rachel's ears it was like thunder, hitting her eardrums again and again.
"Fuck, wake up! There's so much blood... Don't use so much force! His ribs may have been broken by the impact and he can't withstand the pressure!"
He was almost going crazy and kept looking at the rearview mirror. He was not relieved until he saw the female soldier finally show signs of waking up after Bai Lang had performed first aid measures.
In this case, no doctor can help, and the patient can only be treated in a top-level repair cabin. However, there are not many hospitals equipped with such equipment, and the nearest one is half an hour away.
"We need to block the news now, and we can't go to the hospital... I remember your house is equipped with a top-level repair cabin, and it's very close. I'll take you back immediately!"
Rachel eliminated many options in just a few seconds and immediately turned into the nearest route to Cesar's residence.
"go……"
There was a burst of intermittent coughing coming from the back seat, with an unprecedentedly weak breath.
Bai Lang's nervous question rang in his ears, but was forcibly stopped the next second.
Rachel looked in the rearview mirror and saw Caesar silently open his eyes. His face, half smeared with blood, was calm and almost indifferent. His voice was hoarse.
"To your house."
He clearly saw that the blood under the female soldier's body was getting darker and darker, almost soaking the entire cushion, but the order was still unquestionable and without any hesitation.
"Okay, okay, okay! Fortunately, my house is not too far away... Don't die in my car!"
A streak of light narrowly turned before entering the villa and flew in another direction, disappearing almost instantly.
“…”
It was not until she reached a place with brighter lights that Rachel could truly see how severe the injuries on the female soldier's body were.
He clenched his teeth and struggled to force out the command.
"Lay him flat on the sofa...Ei! Raise the repair cabin!"
The shock waves of those destructive weapons were too strong, and just a slight sweep was enough to kill everyone instantly, not to mention directly resisting with flesh and blood.
If there had not been a cover in front and the bone wings had not blocked a considerable part of the impact, the military girl would have been instantly crushed to ashes like those buildings.
Those wounds that were deep enough to reveal bones and were torn and bleeding were still considered minor. Some of the flesh and blood had even been carbonized and would fall off at the slightest movement, looking extremely horrific.
"First...clean the wound."
The female soldier's eyelashes twitched slightly, as if she had woken up from her stupor, but she did not open her eyes and spoke in an inaudible voice.
Rachel yelled at him, "I know, shut up! Hold your breath!"
Bai Lang held his breath and assisted beside him, nervously following the Second Army General to clean the wound to prevent ammunition fragments and other substances from growing into the flesh during the recovery period.
After a short silence, the female soldier who seemed to be unconscious again had her chest heaving for a moment, and her chapped lower lip moved, "Bai Lang."
Hearing someone calling him, Bai Lang sniffed hard and quickly leaned over to listen, "I'm here! Just tell me."
"...Don't tell the Lord."
His pupils shrank slightly, and he almost burst into tears because of this sentence. He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely block the news!"
As if he was finally relieved, Xi Ze tilted his head and fainted again. A trickle of black blood flowed from his lips and silently seeped into the wet sofa.
It was done in a few minutes. Rachel sent Bai Lang out to guard the gate and cleaned up the tail at the same time. She must not reveal any flaws at this time and give the enemies who reacted an opportunity to take advantage.
But when he carefully lifted up the female insect and was about to put it into the repair cabin, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening beside him.
Bai Lang walked in with a look of shock and confusion, and there seemed to be a bug following him.
"Are you deaf?! I just said no one is allowed to put it in!"
Rachel was instantly furious.
He was already in an extremely tense state, and subconsciously turned his body to block Xi Ze, so as not to expose the female insect's current condition.
But before Bai Lang could open his mouth to explain, the insect behind him took a step forward and revealed its figure, "It's me."
Rachel was stunned for a moment, with an irritable expression frozen on her face. She stuttered, "Your Majesty? Why are you here..."
It’s so terrible, it’s so terrible, even though he was seriously injured, he still wanted to hide it from the Lord, Hillzer will definitely be blamed...!
The male insect looked exhausted, wearing only a long windbreaker over his pajamas. He was filled with the cold breath of wind and snow. He must have rushed over immediately after receiving the news.
“…”
At the first sight of the female insect, Yer's eyes turned red and his hands hanging at his sides clenched instantly, with such force that his fingertips sank into his flesh.
But the most urgent thing at the moment was treatment, so he quickly stepped forward and supported the other side of the female insect's body, his voice so tense that it trembled.
"Put him in the repair cabin for treatment first."
In a daze, Xi Ze seemed to sense a familiar breath and woke up a little. He struggled to open his eyes and saw the profile of Yael close at hand.
The warm breath blew on the neck, awakening the cold flesh bit by bit, and then came unbearable pain, causing the still conscious part to spasm violently.
He didn't know whether it was an illusion or reality, but he felt an unprecedented sense of security and could hardly take his eyes off it.
"...Hero Lord?"
Xi Ze murmured almost silently, and then couldn't help but smile slightly.
It seemed like being able to see Yael during the hallucination was a great fortune.
"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
However, the illusion noticed it quickly and turned around, asking with a worried look.
…It doesn’t seem to be an illusion.
Xi Ze was stunned for a long while, then he lowered his eyes with some guilt, only to see the warm blood flowing out of his body seeping through the fabric continuously, soon soaking the collar of the male insect's pajamas, making it dirty and glaring.
He moved his hand subconsciously, and the half of the male insect's body that was close to it suddenly broke into pieces, which almost scared Yael to death. With tears in his eyes, he shouted at him, "Don't move!"
Yael carefully moved the female insect into the repair chamber. Rachel had already started the machine and began to select the type and concentration of the repair fluid.
Xi Ze seemed to be more sober.
His vocal cords were severely damaged, and the hoarse air could only be squeezed out of his throat with difficulty. "Use the highest concentration and... the maximum dosage."
Rachel was startled for a moment, then refused without hesitation.
"No! How can your broken body... withstand the highest intensity?!
But when he met those golden eyes, he knew that this was not a discussion, but an order that could not be shaken.
Rachel's breathing paused for a moment, and she looked at the male insect beside her. Before she could say "Please persuade him", she heard Yael's voice say in a low voice, "Use it."
Okay, okay, they are both tough guys, why is he worrying about it? That guy will not kill himself while repairing the cabin.
Yael was tense and kept his eyes on the female insect, fearing that he might make the injury worse.
After all, the female insect has had this experience before.
The repair chamber started to work, and thick liquid medicine spread out from the bottom, directly soaking the wound.
That must be very painful. Xi Ze tensed up almost instantly and exhaled with a shudder.
After the severe pain subsided, he forced a smile and said intermittently, "My Lord... can you... leave for a while?"
"Don't say that you feel ugly and don't want me to see it. You may not have seen me when I'm really angry."
Yael chuckled and spoke quickly and aggressively, but he couldn't hide the tension and trembling in his voice.
"It's not because of this..."
But when Yael stood here, he couldn't help but become weak.
I have been walking alone for so many years, and I have always endured all the pain. When I was very poor and could not afford the hospital treatment fees, I could only sleep all night and wait for the wounds to heal.
After enduring the long dark night and the dawn rising again, no matter how severe the pain is, it will pass. After taking a shower, you can go to the training ground as usual, or go directly to the battlefield.
後來積攢了一些財富資本，用得上治療艙了，也圖效率和省事每次都開到最大強度，硬生生去熬幾個小時撕裂又重組的痛苦。
但現在好像不一樣了。
那一身冷硬的鋼筋鐵骨，被澆淋上濃稠的蜜糖，因春風不斷的吹拂塌陷軟化，在愛意的浸潤下開出朵朵小花。
不再孓然一身，不再無堅不摧。
意志一旦有裂口，輕易就會全然坍塌，耶爾在身邊的情況下，他一定會因為劇痛而想要親吻和愛撫，從而變得軟弱不堪。
但想了許久，西澤也沒能找到一個合适的說詞，最終只能在雄蟲生氣又傷心的表情下宣告投降。
他伸出傷勢沒那麽重的那只手，拉住了耶爾的手指晃了晃，聲音微弱又沙啞。
“……那您留下來陪我吧，如果承受不住就暫停治療。”
耶爾憋着氣瞪他許久，才終于勉強得到一個可以入耳的回應，随即看向雷契爾，“有什麽需要特別注意的嗎？”
雷契爾反應了一下，“噢噢，如果屏幕上的數值超出正常線，會自動發出警報的，您如果發現什麽異常再叫我就可以了。”
軍雌左右看了一下，又搬來一張小沙發，“您坐着守吧，這樣沒那麽累。”
和躺着的那位對了一下眼神，确認沒問題，雷契爾輕手輕腳地出去了。
門被關上前，他從縫隙中看到雄蟲似乎彎下腰去，似乎很輕地碰了一下那透明的艙門。
……
耶爾從艙門上起身，随手擦了一下掉在上面的水珠，一錯不錯地凝視着裏面的雌蟲。
血肉分解又重塑的過程無比清晰，幾乎瞬間将修複液染成一片血紅。
艙內有自動淨化功能，那修複液很快又變得清澈，裸露出白骨和殘缺的肢體來。
耶爾只覺得呼吸都在灼燒，像是感同身受了那些劇痛，連喉間都含了一口腥甜，吞不下也吐不出來。
他沒有移開眼睛，反而在垂眸一點點地描繪那些傷口，清晰地感受到血液被逐漸點燃的過程。
正忍受劇痛的西澤勉強睜開眼，恰好看到了雄蟲沉郁的表情，怔了一瞬後眼眶泛起熱意。
……雄主。
他痙攣一瞬，近乎無聲地喃喃道。
他不希望耶爾留下來，一方面是怕自己意志軟弱，一方面，就是怕雄蟲露出現在這種表情。
——和那個從他手中接過遺物的雌蟲幼崽一樣，被仇恨和怒火點燃，最終義無反顧地奔赴深淵，白白焚燒了燦金的生命。
西澤撐着手肘起身，隔着透明艙門伸手撫上耶爾的倒影，在他回神看過來時擠出一個笑，無聲做了個口型。
沒事的，別怕。
耶爾的表情怔了一瞬，而後猛地轉過頭，用力地捂住了眼睛。
“你真是……”
他深呼吸了許久，才勉強調整好失控的表情，紅着眼敲了敲艙門示意雌蟲躺回去。
“別折騰了，好好治療。”
他低聲道，把那個小沙發拖過來，坐在一旁打算守一晚上。
……
雷契爾中途有進來換過一次修複液，有些意外地看到耶爾仍然坐在修複艙旁邊，專注地觀察艙內雌蟲的狀态，時不時擡眼看看數據。
他偶爾會隔着艙門摸一摸雌蟲的臉，正忍受劇痛的希爾澤也會笑起來，将手按到透明的屏障上，和外面那只手重合交疊。
雷契爾愣了一下，突然覺得自己之前的猜測不太對了——
這完全不像是一方死去，另一方也能繼續好好生活的樣子。
不管是對希爾澤而言還是對耶爾冕下而言，對方都是非常重要的存在，怎麽可能無痛割舍。
他暗嘆了口氣，沉默地将修複液換成新的一批，沒有說讓冕下先去休息的廢話。
一直到啓明星升起，宣告黎明時分的來臨，那修複艙才徐徐恢複安靜，停止了大半夜的瘋狂運轉。
緊接着嘩啦一道水聲響起，而後便是極其輕微的親吻聲，輕柔而黏糊。
溫暖雪白的光籠罩萬物，在地上拉出了一道長長的、合而為一的陰影。
*
爆炸發生後的第二天，新皇即位。
登基儀式一切從簡，只召集了一些重要臣子完成了基本的交接流程。
一片廢墟的宮殿被封鎖起來，啓用相鄰區域的備用宮殿進行議事。
奧格斯格頂着一片腥風血雨甚至恐怖威脅，将所有非議和抵抗都一力壓了下去，直到所有事情蓋棺定論。
而新皇上位的第一件事，就是下令查封公爵府。
能掌握的軍事力量已經很強，足夠消解那些負隅頑抗，軍隊在一片壓力下攻入層層防護的公爵府，當衆将蘭斯公爵押送到了帝國審訊室。
外界一片混亂，但都和窩在家裏安心養傷的西澤無關。
他因為保護皇儲有功，被特例放了好幾天的假，打算等傷好之後再恢複原職。
而軍部暫時由雷契爾統領，幾天下來已經清掃掉了一個又一個毒瘤。
“……報告完畢，請您指示！”
通訊投屏中，白朗将最近的情況全部彙報完畢，便安靜等待下一步的指令。
屏幕外的軍雌看起來已經好多了，雖然臉色仍然有些蒼白，但顯然已經恢複了強大的生命力，不再瀕臨絕境。
西澤将重要的事務處理完，想起來什麽，又道，“去挑選一只耐養、壽命長一點的動物幼崽拿過來……對了，要不那麽粘蟲的。”
白朗表情困惑一瞬，但還是立刻應了下來。
“好的，您放心，我下午就給您送來！”
……
“這是什麽？”
耶爾的表情有些困惑，視線從呲着大牙笑的白朗臉上移開，轉向他手裏那塊奇怪的綠色石頭。
而好像是聽見他們說話的聲音，那塊綠石頭居然動了動，而後伸出一個頭和四條腿來……等等，烏龜？！
星際時代的烏龜樣子有些異變，但還保留着基本的特征，小小一塊，看起來怪可愛的。
但耶爾沉默一瞬，還是不太明白為什麽白朗要拿着一只烏龜上門。
“進來吧。”
他讓開門，示意軍雌進來再說，示意015去叫西澤出來。
“雄主？”
西澤從書房裏出來，對上耶爾探究的眼神，随即看到了雄蟲身後的軍雌，一時間表情有些凝固。
“元帥！您要的小寵物，我精挑細選了一個，又耐養又長壽還很可愛——剛從養殖箱拿出來呢，健康得很！”
見到元帥，白朗立刻敬了個禮，興奮地把手裏的東西遞了出去。
見到那烏龜的第一眼，西澤也沉默了，有些難以置信地道，“這是……”
“綠毛龜！”
斬釘截鐵的三個字錘死了他的僥幸，雌蟲的表情徹底凝重下去，幾乎不敢去看一旁的耶爾。
他原本是想着，就算有一天自己遭遇不測，死在戰場或直接屍骨無存，也能留下一個有溫度的生命去陪伴耶爾。
不至于留下一室的空寂，還有曾經無比美好，卻能生生将蟲逼瘋的無數回憶。
但西澤又不想要那麽黏糊的寵物，比如雷契爾家中的咪咪，又漂亮又會撒嬌，一定會搶占雄主的注意力。
一番權衡之下，他只能将要求含糊地說出來，讓絕少失誤的白副官自行領會他的意思——
結果誰能想到，白朗居然給他找來一只綠毛龜！
星際裏的星獸品種那麽多，什麽外表和性情的都有，符合條件的一抓一大把，結果白朗居然在長壽和不粘蟲兩個點上都做了極端選擇。
“那個我……送到就走了哈，那邊還有點事……”
眼看自家元帥表情不對，白朗的身體已經瞬移到了門外，一邊虛弱地找借口一邊迅速消失。
反倒是耶爾眉梢微挑，認為這件事興許還有轉機，這個無辜的小烏龜還有別的意義和用途。
“這個到底是幹嘛的？”
總不能真是提前安排好的後事之一吧？
西澤拿炸藥包一樣拿着那小烏龜，猶豫許久還是如實道。
“這種動物活得久，新手也能輕松養活，之後就算……也可以長久陪着雄主。”
耶爾一下被戳中笑點，很輕地噗了一聲。
雖然知道雌蟲是好意，但還是怎麽想怎麽搞笑。
送一只烏龜，那是方便陪伴他嗎？直接送走他都沒問題，而且烏龜這種小動物的互動性沒那麽強，只能是存在即陪伴了。
“你是不是特意挑選了沒那麽粘蟲的，所以那些毛絨絨的小星獸全部被淘汰了，只剩下一塊綠石頭？”
怎麽會有蟲連小動物的醋也吃啊？
耶爾忍了一會，還是忍不住捂臉笑出了聲。
“……雄主別笑了。”
軍雌的表情勉強還算正常，耳尖卻通紅一片，捧着那個綠毛龜不知所措。
但等那斷斷續續的輕笑聲消失，客廳逐漸陷入一片安靜。
像是柔軟可愛的表象褪去，迫不得已露出慘烈又尖銳的內裏。
耶爾放下手，垂眸和烏龜的小黑豆眼對視了一下，還是不免覺得荒誕又無力。
“行了，我帶它去洗一下，髒得像剛從泥地裏拔出來似的。”
The expression on his face faded, and he took out a tissue and covered the turtle shell with it, then took the little turtle to the bathroom sink.
Blah-la-la——
Yael turned the turtle's belly up to prevent it from moving, rinsed it briefly, and pulled a towel from the rack, gently rubbing off the caked-on mud.
The door next to it was closed casually, but was soon pushed open by the female insect that followed.
Caesar watched his movements quietly, then suddenly took a few steps forward and gently hugged Yael from behind.
"What? I can't move my hands."
Yael said without turning his head, his tone sounding a little impatient, but the ending of his words, which were suppressed to the extreme, revealed a slight tremor.
Sure enough, he is angry.
Xi Ze tightened his arms a little bit, lowered his head and rubbed the male insect's soft hair, smelled the extremely warm and familiar breath, and said in a low voice.
"If something happens to me one day, you can go back to your home over there."
If the day of eternal separation comes, if the unpredictable fate permits, he hopes that Yael will not waste his years in a foreign land, nor sink into the abyss of hatred.
——Instead, he struggled to break free from the cold cage and turned into a white bird and flew high into the sky.
Yael remained still for a long time, staring at the little turtle that was constantly being splashed by the water. His Adam's apple moved for a while, and he said crisply, "Okay."
"I will leave when you die. I won't take care of your funeral. When I get back there, I will travel by myself. If I meet someone I like on the way, I can have a romance with him. Maybe he will be taller and more handsome than you..."
He noticed that the arms around him tightened, as if they were a little angry. The female insect behind him buried her face in his hair gloomily, seeming a little annoyed.
"My Lord, I am not dead yet..."
Yael washed and wrung the towel, then rubbed his hands vigorously twice until his fingertips turned red from being frozen, and only then did he stop this action which seemed like he was venting his feelings.
He took a deep breath, turned around and pushed the female insect away, grabbing the collar of his shirt and forcing Caesar to lower his head.
"I'm talking about what happens after you die. There's nothing wrong with planning ahead."
Yael looked at those red eyes, and the anger accumulated in his chest dissipated a little, and he spoke word by word.
"If you don't want me to leave, and don't want me to fall in love with someone else, hug or kiss someone else, then you better be careful not to die. It would be best if you can live a hundred years longer than this green-haired turtle. Do you understand?"
Xi Ze stared at him deeply, the remaining sadness in his eyes was replaced by tenderness, and he forced a smile.
"……good."
The turtle floated in the shallow water with its belly facing the sky. It kicked its legs aimlessly, but it never waited for a hand to turn it over.