Chapter 34
Emerging from Nabudoli Shopping Mall, one arrives at the bustling Plaza de la Eternum and Corchari Street. With the first snow festival approaching, the streets are adorned with vibrant red decorations, creating a lively atmosphere. However, the occasional patrol of guards, standing ready for action, makes other pedestrians feel uneasy and anxious, sparking much discussion.
Chris looked on in surprise: "What happened?"
Joshua flipped through the announcement posted by the Kempin Public Security Bureau on the StarNet: "It seems like martial law has been imposed and a search is underway for wanted criminals."
Chris: "Are you that bold? Being wanted by the authorities and still daring to come all the way to Kiria? But with such a big fuss, what exactly did you do wrong?"
Joshua: "It wasn't just one person; it was a criminal gang of space pirates called White Sands."
Hearing this name, Basil's heart skipped a beat. "When the Control Yuan was cracking down on banned drugs a while ago... um..."
Chris quickly covered his mouth: "I told you you can't talk about this outside."
Basil brushed his hand away. "Joshua knows that," he muttered, then continued, "So you didn't catch them all last time? How dare they come to Chilia again?"
Joshua's family, the Celanda family, was, in some ways, far more informed than the two of them. After all, Rozelite was at most a collateral branch of the Sleica family, and although the Sleica family had inherited titles, they had long been stripped of their official positions. That's why the emperor could let them do business with peace of mind. The Celanda family, on the other hand, was at the center of politics. Joshua's parents and elder brother all held important positions in the parliament, and even his sister had been promoted to the Academy of Sciences this year. They had access to far more information than the two of them could hear from others.
Joshua: "I don't know, but just the appearance of space pirates shouldn't warrant a global state of emergency. Blocking borders so tightly must be a huge waste of money."
Chris was speechless. Although that's what he said, Joshua's words easily created a stereotype in him because his father, Charles Ceylanca, was a staunch member of the Parliamentarian Party and the Empire's chief treasurer. He controlled the money very tightly and was not well-liked by the Emperor.
Basil: "Unless... it's not just a matter of space pirates appearing. Is it possible that they've openly appeared in Chilia to rescue Hilde and the others who were captured earlier..." He paused nervously, "And judging from the scene on the street, they may have already succeeded and are just waiting to find a way to escape Chilia."
Joshua turned to head back to Nabudoli Shopping Mall, but Chris quickly grabbed him: "Hey, Joshua, what are you doing!"
Joshua was somewhat excited: "Go buy some protective gear. This is pure military merit! Don't you want it?"
He was two years older than Luo Le and was a freshman at the Capital Military Academy this year. He had reserve military status. Whether he would be scolded by his superiors for participating in this kind of thing was another matter, but if he really caught the space pirates, he would definitely be credited with military merit. At that time, he would not need to take any more practical exams, and he could even go directly to the front-line legion after graduation.
Chris had long since graduated from the National University and inherited the family business. He didn't share their excitement about this kind of thing and wanted to avoid it altogether. In the past, Rolle would have definitely followed Joshua without hesitation, but now there was a serious problem. That was the White Sand Star Pirates! Hilde had even seen his face before. Forget about catching him; the fact that he hadn't come after him and Feng Ran after escaping from prison was already a stroke of luck.
So he frowned and said righteously, "I don't want it." Then he grabbed Joshua's other side and, together with Chris, lifted him up and dragged him away, saying, "Don't get involved in this kind of commotion, or your dad will beat you up."
Joshua: "My dad can't beat me anymore."
Basil: "What a filial son."
Chris: "He can't beat you, but your brother and sister aren't pushovers either."
Basil couldn't help but reflect on himself. He wasn't as stupid as Joshua. After all, if he really fought with his father, his mother would cry. She would beat him up while crying, and even the closest son would be helpless. Love is just that biased.
Joshua was dragged along for a distance, and Basil, struggling, kicked him in the backside: "Get up and walk yourself, you're so heavy."
Joshua retorted, "Young master, you can't even do this much weight? How are you going to get into our school?"
Basil looked a little awkward when she heard the address, and kicked him again: "I got straight A's and was admitted to university without taking the entrance exam."
As Joshua passed the intersection of a small alley, he stopped and peered inside, then said in a serious tone, "This place looks perfect for harboring criminals."
Just a few steps away, Cochari Street was bustling with people, but this alley was deserted as far as the eye could see, with all the shops closed, just like what Joshua had described.
Chris nudged him again: "This is the bar street, and none of them are open during the day, so of course there aren't many people here." He couldn't move Joshua by himself, so he kept nagging him: "If you really want to earn military merit, talk to Joey during winter break and ask him to find a way to get you an internship at the Public Security Bureau or the Ministry of State Security. Aren't your families old friends?"
Joshua spat, getting a little angry: "Who's his family friend? What bad luck!" He stomped on Chris's foot, broke free from him, pointed ahead and laughed: "Besides, you shouldn't be telling me this now, your cousin has already run away."
Upon hearing this, Chris turned his head and found that Basil had already run away, his figure almost disappearing at the end of the alley. While he was clutching his foot in pain, Joshua also rushed out. Chris was on the verge of tears, thinking viciously to himself, "None of them can give me any peace of mind. I'll tell your parents when I get back!"
Completely unaware of the farce that followed, Basil's heart beat faster and faster as she went deeper into the room, and the scent became more and more obvious—the scent of wind-burning pheromones.
When he smelled it at the alley entrance, it was faint, mixed with various other smells and not very noticeable. After all, it was a bar street, so it wasn't surprising to smell similar alcohol. But Basil's intuition was always very sharp, and he felt that he had to take a look and confirm it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to feel at ease all day.
However, as he drew closer, he became increasingly certain that Feng Ran was ahead. Why would she be in a place like this? Why was she releasing pheromones uncontrollably? Could something have happened to her? With martial law and chaos reigning globally, Feng Ran could easily become Hilde's target. And what exactly was Shen Shiqian doing?!
Basil walked somewhat absentmindedly to a back door, and Joshua followed briskly. He pinched his nose, stepped back, and glanced at the sign above the front door again: "Absinthe Bar? Wow, did they knock over the liquor cabinet? Why does it smell so strong?" He blinked again, slowly realizing: "Eh... wait, this looks like pheromones?"
“Joshua, do you have any usable armor? Let’s break down this door.”
Joshua shook his head, about to tell him that breaking and entering was wrong, when he saw Basil turn around, his eyes bloodshot, as if some deep-seated enemy was hiding behind the door. Afraid that Basil would burst into tears if he refused him, he silently took a small awl from his accessories.
When Chris arrived, he saw two people huddled in front of the bar's back door, banging and hitting the smart lock with small awls. The alarm was beeping loudly, almost attracting the attention of the patrol team on the street outside.
Chris stepped forward and tugged at them, saying, "Hey, what are you doing?!"
Joshua exclaimed excitedly, "Chris, I feel like I'm not far from earning a military merit!"
As you get closer to that door, in addition to the scent of pheromones, other smells become more pronounced, such as the smell of blood.
When they finally managed to break the smart lock, Luo Le kicked the door open and rushed in, immediately spotting Feng Ran, who was tied to the wall and covered in blood.
Because of the high fever caused by catching a cold, coupled with the fact that the excessive amount of sleeping pills she had inhaled earlier had not yet been completely neutralized, Feng Ran's consciousness fell into a daze again not long after Jiang Lan left. However, the backlash from the neuralgia was severe and kept tormenting her. She could only temporarily release her mental energy to relieve it, so the sounds around her became blurry and distorted, and she failed to notice the noise of Luo Le and the others banging on the door.
But when the outside light filled the small warehouse and Basil's figure appeared before her, she felt her long-standing grievances and sadness were instantly saved.
Sun, light, hero.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. How could she have been so willing to leave this person in her past life? She called out softly, "Basil..." Feng Ran couldn't hear her own voice; her throat felt as dry as if she had swallowed needles.
Basil couldn't bear to see Feng Ran cry. His eyes were red, and he gently hugged Feng Ran, untied her ropes, and suppressed the fear and bitterness in his heart. He whispered in her ear to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here, nothing will happen."
Joshua, watching from the side, took a step back, feeling a little sad: "Oh dear, this is really..." He couldn't stand this kind of sentimental scene, so he pulled Chris, who was equally stunned, away.
The two wounds on her neck had already scabbed over slightly, but the inflammation on her arm was severe, even oozing tissue fluid and sticking her clothes together. Basil patiently comforted her, "Does it hurt? Let me bandage it for you, okay?"
Before leaving, Jiang Lan threw the dagger by the door. Luo Le picked it up and quickly cut his clothes into strips, wrapping them around Feng Ran's arm. But for some reason, the gentler his movements, the more Feng Ran cried. Luo Le was heartbroken and even worried that she would cry herself to death.
He gently kissed Feng Ran: "Don't cry, okay?" He helped Feng Ran put on his clothes and gently wiped away the tears around her eyes. "I would be very jealous if these tears weren't shed because of me."
He picked Feng Ran up horizontally, and Feng Ran naturally hugged him and snuggled against him. Luo Le continued in a low voice, "If it were really because I cried so much, I would hate myself too, so stop crying and give me some face, otherwise I'll look useless."
The faint lavender scent emanating from Basil calmed Feng Ran down. She could easily understand what Basil was saying by lip reading, but she still felt a little regretful that she couldn't hear Basil say those words in person.
She nodded slightly in response, her uninjured hand gently gripping Basil's lapel. Before falling into a deep sleep, she thought faintly, why not just kill Shen Shiqian? That way, she and Basil wouldn't have to be separated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
