Chapter 81 Brilliance "I will never meet someone like you again..."
The garden has been sealed off.
There were only a dozen or so people investigating the crime scene. Tan Jiang, the director of the National Security Bureau, personally inspected every corner. He was a former policeman and had reviewed the surveillance footage and various information on his way there, but he was still shocked for a long time after seeing the scene.
The atmosphere in His Majesty's study froze completely.
Lavezzi trembled, handing over a rose that Shi Wei had cut off. Several petals had fallen off due to his shaking hands. His voice trembled even more: "I...I had a Grandmaster of Spiritual Power examine it. It passed. There's a very powerful spiritual energy on this flower...It's so powerful that it hasn't dissipated yet...And, it also contains Miss Shi's DNA..."
He was somewhat incoherent. He could make excuses for the previous times when Shi Wei had accidents, but this time, Shi Wei disappeared in the palace.
And the most important of his positions is—Captain of the Royal Guard.
His Majesty's guard commander is only a part-time position; his main job is to be responsible for the security of the palace.
It's all over now, really all over.
Decades ago, he failed to compete with Luci and did not enter the Security Bureau. Instead, he became a guard captain. At that time, he was frustrated that his career had not even begun before he went straight to retirement.
However, he succeeded in his mission through a roundabout approach. Because he was capable and loyal enough, he began to take charge of the emperor's security.
For decades, Lavezzi has followed His Majesty through thick and thin, and he believes that in the field of security, he is at least one of the best in the universe.
Unexpectedly, in middle age, my career has faced tremendous challenges time and time again.
This time, his wife might really be remarrying.
Although he could roughly guess who did it, the emotionally devastated Lavezzi just wanted to say to the murderer, "Couldn't you have assassinated His Majesty instead?"
Anyone who came here for His Majesty should either die in battle or achieve great things; that would be better than trying to take their own life now.
Another person who almost collapsed was Lu Qi. This time, not only did the entire palace guard want to die, but the people in the security bureau also wanted to die.
As the second-in-command of the Security Bureau and the head of the secret service, Shi Wei's agents were personally selected by Lu Qi. However, since the incident occurred in the palace, these agents were not by Shi Wei's side. Who would have thought that she could get into trouble just by picking flowers in the garden?
Tan Jiang, the head of the Security Bureau, came from the police system. After being merged into the Security Bureau, although he was nominally the head, his actual power was far less than that of Lu Qi, the emperor's confidant. Therefore, he and Lu Qi were not very harmonious.
He also knew that Lu Qi had been clinging to Miss Shi's coattails. After observing for a while, Tan Jiang, with the mentality of joining forces if he couldn't win, frequently tried to curry favor with Shi Wei. Since Lu Qi and Lavezzi had already taken over the task of protecting Shi Wei, he had no choice but to take a different approach and focus on equipment. He provided many of the protective gear that Shi Wei was equipped with, and also illegally provided a lot of weapons.
But in the face of absolute power, all efforts are futile, and who would pick a flower and bring along those deadly weapons?
After inspecting the scene, he concluded that a person with extremely strong mental power had infiltrated the palace and kidnapped Shi Wei. During this process, the palace's defense system was paralyzed for ten minutes.
People with such abilities are few and far between in the entire universe.
He told Lu Qi the conclusion, and for the first time, the spy chief, with whom he had a strained relationship, showed an expression of confusion and helplessness.
The two people stared at each other.
Tan Jiang sighed for the 388th time and patted Lu Qi on the shoulder: "If we have to say, none of us can escape, but if we have to say, His Majesty is safe, so this is not the worst situation."
Lu Qi gave a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Then you go report it, I'll go track it down."
Tan Jiang wiped his face and surprisingly agreed, "Okay, I'll cover for her. If you need someone, just tell my secretary. I've already spoken to them—this isn't just about that young lady disappearing; it's about..."
He couldn't continue. Now everyone was losing face. If Shi Wei could be taken away like this, then His Majesty's safety was nothing but a joke.
Lu Qi gained a new understanding of his hidden superior. He said, "Right now, all of Manla's manpower has been mobilized. The port was completely under lockdown within half an hour of the incident. Shi Wei should still be inside the country..."
Before he could finish speaking, a communication came through his communicator. It was Aker's furious voice: "Holy crap! Something terrible has happened! Twenty minutes ago, there was an encounter in the northern district of the capital, with unidentified... Damn! It must be those mercenary bastards! They actually dared to launch an attack in the capital!"
Tan Jiang was over 150 years old. Upon hearing the news, he swayed, and Lu Qi quickly supported him, as he still needed Tan Jiang's help to withstand the Emperor's wrath.
Aker was about to say something when a commotion broke through the communication, apparently someone had barged in to report an emergency. Then Lucius heard a few words that sounded like a bolt from the blue: "...Superjump point detected... Energy tail... Five minutes ago..."
Lu Qi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He stared at Tan Jiang in horror and found that the fear in his superior's eyes was no less than his own.
A hyperjump point is a jump point that is faster and covers a longer distance than a regular jump point. Only two factions in the entire universe have mastered this technology.
One is Manra, and the other is a mercenary.
The cost of building a jump point is extremely high, and its maintenance is very troublesome. Aker's report indicates that this jump point does not belong to any of Manra's, but was hidden by the mercenaries. Although it is most likely a temporary jump point that can only be used once in one direction.
However, in their own capital city, there is a temporary overtake point for the enemy.
This is undoubtedly a slap in the face to the Security Bureau, no, it's a slap in the face to Manra.
It's unimaginable what a blow it would be to Manra if His Majesty were the one who was killed, and the murderer simply walked away without a care in the world.
Lu Qi watched as Tan Jiang shakily pulled out a few pills and swallowed them. He cried and said, "Give me two pills too."
The two brothers, both in dire straits, are truly at their wits' end and all they want to do is hug each other and cry.
The medicine must have taken effect, because Tan Jiang calmed down a bit and then gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go report to His Majesty. I'm old, and it doesn't matter if I don't make it out of the palace today. The Security Bureau will still need you in the future."
Lu Qi said sorrowfully, "His Majesty won't punish us now. What can I do if you go and report this?"
A fierce glint flashed across Tan Jiang's face as he lowered his voice: "The hyperjump point also has distance limitations. Miss Shi cannot withstand a second long-distance jump, so they are definitely not in the Chaotic Starfield yet. Notify our mercenary forces that once they find Yi Lan's trail, they should snipe him immediately."
Lu Qi regained some of his composure and shook his head, saying, "Very few people within the mercenary group know about this kind of operation. Yi Lan was on guard against us before making his move, otherwise why didn't our people notice anything unusual?"
“So he must not have brought many people with him this time.” Tan Jiang understood what he meant, but quickly added with frustration, “The border between Manra and the Chaotic Starfield is too long. Even if he doesn’t take a detour, we may not be able to stop him.”
Lu Qi had already started making calls. He said expressionlessly, "Then we'll see who's faster."
Even if the hope is slim, they have to take the plunge and gamble.
Tan Jiang entered the study and saw Lavezzi standing to one side with a pale face. The room was not messed up at all, and even Lavezzi was unharmed.
He felt his heart start beating irregularly again, and he wanted to take two more pills, but His Majesty's eyes were already on him. He cautiously reported the preliminary findings of the scene to the Emperor, trying to use less provocative language, but Lavezzi's face looked even more grim.
Such a major blunder cannot be explained by negligence, and even Lavezzi's responsibility is not great; it is the fault of everyone—the capital star is not only home to the royal family, but also to many nobles and government officials. It is the core of Manla's largest star system and a combination of economic and political centers.
However, in such an important location, the mercenaries set up a jump point.
After the perpetrators left the palace with the hostages, they should have been discovered quickly. However, the mercenaries who came to meet them were disguised as police officers, and the guards did not immediately realize that the group was unusual. They even thought that the people were on some kind of mission.
Yi Lan openly drove the police car, carrying Shi Wei, towards the vicinity of the leap point.
It was only when the tracking device on Shi Wei triggered an alarm that someone realized she was missing.
"...The distance of the leap is limited. As soon as they land, their energy will be detected instantly. I have already asked Lu Qi to make arrangements. We will definitely be able to stop them!" Tan Jiang gritted his teeth and made a solemn pledge. Those eagle eyes fell on him, and the cold sweat on his back soaked his clothes.
At this moment, the Emperor probably wanted to kill all of them, this bunch of good-for-nothings. Tan Jiang thought painfully, if he had known this would happen, he should have resigned on the pretext of illness last year, so that he could have ended up with a dignified life.
“The fastest route from the capital planet of Manra to the Fortress of Zerg will take three days. You have three days left.” King Sklag II looked at the star map, on which the possible routes analyzed by the think tank were projected, dividing the entire Manra into pieces, just like his mood at this moment.
"If there is no definite news in three days, then we will enter a state of combat readiness." The man's voice was filled with anger; he had had enough of being provoked and humiliated so blatantly.
"I said ten years ago that this war was bound to happen sooner or later, but you all tried to stop me, saying that Manra's economy was enough to cripple the Chaotic Starfield. Now, ten years have passed, and they are still alive and kicking, while Manra's capital can be entered and exited at will." The Emperor's words made them feel ashamed. Tan Jiang, as a member of the conservatives, wanted to die even more. He heard His Majesty say in the end, "Get out."
...
When Shi Wei woke up, she found herself being held in someone's arms, with the young man's red hair affectionately rubbing against her neck. This scene was even somewhat familiar.
Feeling helpless and speechless, Yi Lan knocked her unconscious after she answered "look at the stars".
They've been kidnapped again.
Looking out the window, they were already in space, and flying at an extremely high speed, making Shi Wei, who had just woken up from the hyperextension, feel a little airsick.
A surge of spiritual energy enveloped her. Shi Wei turned her head slightly, and Yi Lan leaned against the pillow, reaching out his hand—a semi-transparent red wolf appeared in his palm.
The tiny wolf, no bigger than a fist, jumped into Shi Wei's arms as she sat up. Shi Wei instinctively picked up the mysterious little thing and asked, "What is this?"
"My spiritual body," Yi Lan explained succinctly.
She pinched it, but felt nothing. The fluffy little wolf shook its fur, took a few steps back, and then leaped away—
Thud, it jumped onto her chest.
Shi Wei silently dragged the pervert away and returned him to Yi Lan.
"It's a gift for you." The red-haired youth said in a gentle, lazy voice, "It can last a long time; even if it leaves me, it can still exist for decades."
Shi Wei actually wanted to ask him something else, but she didn't dare to, so she replied perfunctorily, "What's the use of this?"
Yi Lan smiled and replied, "Don't you think it's quite cute? It would be nice to keep it as a pet. You can put it in your pocket and take it out to play with when you're bored."
Shi Wei glanced at him and said disdainfully, "No."
This little thing is so restless, it keeps trying to crawl into her clothes. And she keeps it as a pet, just like its owner.
But the person who gave the gift didn't care about any of that. They took the pendant back and, somehow, rolled it into a glowing ball and put it in the pendant box.
The pendant features a red starstone, a rare color. Once the back cover is closed, a small bright spot can be seen moving around inside.
"This is for you." Yi Lan put it on her.
Shi Wei backed away, unsure of his intentions, and refused, saying, "I don't want to."
Yi Lan was silent for a moment, then said, "...Consider it a wedding gift for you."
Now it was Shi Wei who fell silent. She suddenly didn't dare to look him in the eye, so she looked away and let him put the necklace around her neck.
“It will protect you when I’m not around,” Yi Lan said.
What does this mean? Shi Wei's mind was filled with more and more doubts. He was giving her a wedding gift and a small pet. Could he really be here to give her his blessings?
Although I don't know how he stole me out, it must have taken a lot of effort. If it were just a gift, there would be no need for such a big fuss. Eric had Shichuan bring a congratulatory gift over a few days ago, and the Emperor didn't say anything.
Moreover, Shi Wei vaguely sensed that Yi Lan's mental energy was somewhat agitated.
Shi Wei walked to the porthole and said helplessly, "Where are we going now? There are stars everywhere outside, which one do you want to see?"
Since she's been so cooperative, could you please take her back after we've seen the stars?
With such a bizarre disappearance, Shi Wei knew without a doubt that King Sklag II was about to lose his composure, and the palace guards were definitely in big trouble. If Yi Lan didn't hand her over, something truly terrible was about to happen.
She knew King Sklag II quite well. The previous accidents could be explained away by the negligence of his subordinates, but this time, she was inexplicably taken away by Yi Lan in the palace, which would completely enrage His Majesty.
However, she dared not speak rashly now. Yi Lan's condition was obviously not right. Since she woke up, she had been very gentle, as if she were a completely different person, and she had not done anything improper.
Just like now, he was standing right behind me, a step away, but I didn't take another step closer.
"If I told you, there would be no surprise." Green eyes were reflected in the porthole, and handsome features were faintly visible. Her chin overlapped with the top of her head, and in the reflection, it looked as if he was hugging her.
Shi Wei sensed that he wanted to get closer to her, but he didn't move.
...
Zeng Shou has already packed his things and is now on high alert. This morning, the Chaotic Starfield finally gave a reply, approving his return.
He still felt a lot of regret. He had lived in Manla for decades and had become a part of the place. He never thought he would have the chance to go back in this lifetime.
However, he had a doubt in his mind: after he received the order that day, he did find that someone had infiltrated the place, but so many days have passed and nothing has happened to Manla.
Risking exposing his old tricks just to smuggle people across the border? That's just too much of a loss.
Therefore, he did not immediately head to the Chaotic Starfield. He wanted to wait a while to see if the Security Bureau had noticed anything before making any arrangements.
Then, even more surprisingly, the communicator he thought he would never use again lit up again.
After he requested to leave, he entered a silent state, and he was certain that he had turned off the device.
Zeng Shou turned on the communicator, read the contents, took a deep breath, and slumped into his chair.
...
Shi Wei sat in the protective cabin, looking at Yi Lan not far away through the semi-transparent observation area. The starship he was piloting was not large. An alarm had suddenly sounded, and then he put himself in and began a short-distance jump.
Have they been discovered?
Shi Wei breathed a sigh of relief. She had just calculated the time, and finally, 28 hours after she disappeared, those spies from the Security Bureau finally found her trail.
How can you expect to get married smoothly with these insects protecting you?
After giving the order and confirming that the pursuers had been completely shaken off, Yi Lan opened the protective pod, checked the data on the life monitoring device, and nodded: "Not bad, your mental power is slowly changing your physique. You've survived so many jumps without any problems."
He used his mental energy to check again, confirming that Shi Wei was fine. Seeing her roll her eyes at him, he deliberately led her back to the room and said, "Take off your clothes."
Then, as expected, Shi Wei's expression changed drastically, and she hid back in fear.
He casually tugged at his collar, a half-smile on his face, and said, "What, you think you can get rid of me right away?"
Shi Wei looked around, trying to find a handy weapon to put up a futile resistance, but the facilities in the lounge were very basic. She hid behind a table and said fiercely, "I will never give in, you...you don't come any closer, I—I..."
Then she saw Yi Lan leaning against the wall with one hand and covering her face with the other: "Hahahaha..."
Shi Wei realized she had been tricked.
"Are you crazy?!" she yelled, but Yi Lan didn't care at all.
Yi Lan grabbed her, took a protective suit from the little robot behind her, and stuffed Shi Wei inside.
"What are you doing! I'll dress myself!" Shi Wei struggled in vain, and he stuffed her in like a sack of potatoes. Her hair blocked her vision, and she struggled to open the mask, saying while fixing her hair, "You did this on purpose!"
Saying those words almost scared her to death.
Yi Lan looked at her flushed face, her hands itching slightly. Ignoring her gaze, she began to take off her clothes.
"What are you doing!" Shi Wei turned around quickly, but the protective suit was too heavy. Her lower back hit the table, she screamed, and she tripped over her own foot and fell to the ground.
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha." She was lying on her back, so she couldn't see Yi Lan, but could only hear his arrogant laughter.
Hey! Shi Wei tried hard to get up, but there was a heavy device behind her, and her arms couldn't find a foothold. Like a little turtle that had flipped over, she struggled for a long time.
In the end, it was Yi Lan who pulled her up.
This guy laughed for several minutes and even took pictures. Shi Wei's face darkened, and he sat down on the ground, refusing to get up no matter what Yi Lan said.
Yi Lan put on protective clothing himself and tried to pick Shi Wei up, but because of her lack of cooperation and the restriction of the clothing, he really couldn't do anything about her.
Finally, Yi Lan directed a small delivery robot to scoop her up with the bucket of a forklift.
Those who passed by on the starship all saw this scene: their commander was walking in front wearing a protective suit, followed by a small delivery robot, with Shi Wei sitting in the robot's cargo bed with a dark expression.
...
Yi Lan walked onto the starship's deck. Shi Wei was lifted up from the pipe shaft by the little robot's arm. Seeing that she still didn't move and stubbornly turned her back to him, Yi Lan found it amusing and then turned off the gravity lock.
Shi Wei found herself slowly floating up. She turned her head and saw Yi Lan pull out a fixing rope from her body, attaching one end to a slot on her body and holding the other end in her hand.
Like leading a balloon, I took her to the best view.
Shi Wei's face flushed red with anger, and she kicked him, but because of the weightlessness, the kick had no force at all. Yi Lan was equipped with a gravity device, so he didn't move at all, while Shi Wei was almost thrown away by the reaction force.
Luckily, there was a rope tying it up.
Yi Lan deactivated the gravity around her, floated to her side, patted her head, and gestured for her to look ahead.
The timing was perfect. After waiting for more than ten minutes, the light from the core collapse and explosion of that small planet light-years away finally reached them.
The planet's satellites were also impacted, collapsing and releasing their last energy.
The Nebula Stream has begun.
Unlike the last time when she saw the complete Nebula Stream on her first visit, this time Shi Wei watched it from the beginning. Yi Lan's voice came through the communicator: "Don't you think humans are cruel, treating their deaths as a beautiful sight to behold, and even making up ridiculous things like 'watching the Nebula Stream together means we can be together forever'?"
"Were you possessed by the Holy Father today, or did you develop a new personality due to a split personality?" Shi Wei looked at him seriously and said, "If I didn't know you, I would have thought you were someone pretending to be someone else."
“Planets, like people, have lifespans, just different lengths. You feel sorry for them, but what are they thinking, 'What are you, an ant, babbling about?'” Shi Wei snorted and said bluntly, “If you don’t believe such ridiculous talk, why bother bringing me here to see?”
Yi Lan smiled silently. Of course he didn't believe it. In fact, he didn't intend to do anything. In the silent space, his voice sounded somewhat lonely: "One day, I suddenly remembered that when you were at the Grasshopper Fortress, you said that the Nebula Stream was the most beautiful moment of a planet, and that it should be magnificent one last time before it dies, becoming more precious because of death."
Then he said, what's so special about it? He used to travel through space all year round when he was fighting, and he had seen it many times, but he didn't think it was that special. You think it's precious because you haven't seen it often.
Then Shi Wei said he had no taste.
"Thinking about it now, it really was tasteless. To be honest, it was quite beautiful. Every planet is unique, so every nebula stream is different. Therefore... no one has ever seen the same nebula stream twice—" The red-haired youth's voice came. Shi Wei subconsciously wanted to see his expression, but heard him calmly say, "I will never meet someone like you again."
Shi Wei was taken aback for a moment, then saw him reach out and gently touch her mask, saying, "After you finish watching Nebula Flow this time, I'll send you back."
...
Thousands of galaxies away, a group of drab starships were hiding behind an asteroid belt. On the flagship, a colossal creature looked at the images coming from the monitor and asked in bewilderment, "What are they doing?"
The image shows Shi Wei and Yi Lan leaning together, looking at the stars.
A noisy sound came from behind:
"Your Majesty! They're so close together, they must be mating!"
"Ugh~ That's disgusting!"
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The author says: So all that trouble and the huge price he paid was just to see the stars.
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