Chapter 81 Arrogant, despicable, weak, blind and...
The first thing he heard was a gunshot.
The voice quickly brought Fu Yunlu to his side.
Liang Guanyue stared in a daze as Fu Yunlu stood upright and then fell to the ground. His eyes, which usually smiled, were now wide open and staring into the distance without focus. The bullet pierced his temples, and scarlet blood covered his pale face like cracks. The cracks spread along his face until they condensed into an irregular circle on the ground. The scarlet circle stretched out its tentacles and slid towards Liang Guanyue reluctantly.
Then the blood of death stood at his feet.
"I won," Hilda announced with a smile.
Liang Guanyue's gaze mechanically shifted to the beta named Hilda, then lowered his head to look at the corpse on the ground - the blood under the corpse seemed dazzling, like waves hitting his whole body, everything became distorted in the waves, and an endless whirlpool enveloped him.
Liang Guanyue felt dizzy.
The minute hand turned a circle, and when the hour hand reached ten, Liang Guanyue woke up from the bed.
After Fu Yunlu left, Liang Guanyue was still feeling upset and was guarded by a group of his personal guards, so he simply lay back down and took another nap.
Why do I keep having these messy dreams lately? He sat on the bed and thought to himself: Can't Fu Yunlu just be more content in her dreams?
Liang Guanyue struggled to calm down. Fu Yunlu's dead face flickered before his eyes, his brow furrowing. He opened the refrigerator and stood there for a long moment, dazed, before finally picking up the bottle of milk he'd opened that morning. Just as he was about to unscrew the cap, he saw a sticky note with today's date and '08:16' written on it. He figured it must be the time Fu Yunlu had opened the bottle of milk for him that morning while making breakfast.
He tore it off, gently pinched the thin paper between two fingers, looked at it silently for a long time, and then threw it into the trash can with the milk.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Liang, His Highness has instructed that you can't move around freely while he's away."
Liang Guanyue stared expressionlessly at the tall Alpha blocking the door and said, "Why, does he mean to put me under house arrest?"
The attendant was stunned for a moment, then explained, "Your Highness didn't mean that. It's just that during this special period, you're not familiar with District 53, and it would be dangerous to wander around casually."
"Just follow me."
"Sorry, we only follow your highness's orders."
Liang Guanyue nodded good-naturedly: "Okay, then you should contact Fu Yunlu immediately and tell her that I'm going back to the main city."
The attendant didn't expect him to say that. Liang Guanyue raised an eyebrow and said, "Why, this isn't okay?"
The attendant's phone rang for a long time without being answered. Liang Guanyue suddenly said, "Let me ask you a question."
"What if someone comes here specifically to kill me?"
"Our duty is to protect your safety, Mr. Liang. Please rest assured," the attendant said. "And your Highness's residence is equipped with a state-of-the-art defense system. Unless it's a micro-missile-level weapon, ordinary firearms cannot penetrate the defense system."
Liang Guanyue asked, "Who can decide to activate micro-missile-level weapons?"
The attendant said, "Under special circumstances, the commander of the garrison in each administrative district can decide to activate it."
Liang Guanyue said calmly: "What is a special situation?"
"If the Zerg breach the protective shield, or if a wanted pirate gang threatens the lives of citizens," the attendant said, "rest assured. If either of these situations occurs, we will immediately escort you back to the main city as ordered."
Liang Guanyue nodded, and only turned back to his room when the call made by the servant was not connected and went to the answering box.
The attendant breathed a sigh of relief.
Liang Guanyue returned to the second floor and stood in front of each window for a while, estimating the height and landing conditions. He made sure that he didn't need to be tied up with a rope, so he found a place where there were fewer guards. He put the gun that Fu Yunlu had given him in his inner pocket, and for some reason he suddenly wanted to curse.
If Fu Yunlu were in front of him, Liang Guanyue was sure that he would not give him a good face. At this time, the other party would definitely lower his attitude and coax him not to be angry, just like coaxing his own child. Liang Guanyue could almost imagine Fu Yunlu's tone and expression - he would know why he was unhappy.
What Liang Guanyue wanted to do had never been successfully prevented by anyone, not even Fu Yunlu. Even if he was worried, Liang Guanyue was not a real child, and he did not even need special legal protection.
In the eighteen years on the Garbage Planet, ever since his mother's death, he had never received any protection from anyone except Alpha, his own lucky differentiation. Now someone wanted to protect him, but this person couldn't even protect himself. Liang Guanyue felt that he should teach him what it meant to take care of himself first, and then protect others under his wing.
The attendant only felt a shadow flash past him. He thought it was his own illusion, but when he looked closely, he was stunned. He immediately chased after it and shouted into the intercom: "The protected person has escaped by jumping out the window! Two o'clock direction!"
"Mr. Liang!" the attendant shouted, his mind flashing with the Fourth Prince's smiling, inquiring face. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He chased after the dark figure and shouted, "Where are you going? We'll escort you!"
Liang Guanyue snorted without even turning his head.
The captain of the guards who protected him knew that the Fourth Prince's lover was an Alpha, but he didn't expect her to be so flexible. As a Liang Guanyue who often cheated and deceived people on the garbage planet to support himself when he was a child, he certainly needed to develop the ability to escape and hide his tracks.
The moment the captain of the guards caught up with Liang Guanyue, he finally got through to Fu Yunlu. The voices on the other end were so noisy that Fu Yunlu had to breathe hard to utter words that were drowned out by the wind and voices.
"Your Highness! Mr. Liang ran away!" He paused and added, "But I have caught up with him."
Fu Yunlu's heart, which had been in her throat, finally calmed down. "...Take him back to the main city. I should have told you the location of the jump ship in advance."
"What?" The captain of the guards was confused and looked at Liang Guanyue, who was surrounded by people, several times before confirming, "Now?"
"Hmm." Fu Yunlu coughed several times before saying, "You'll probably run into military personnel later. Don't trust them, and don't get into direct conflict. Take Liang Guanyue and avoid them. Protecting his safety is your top priority."
"Your Highness, you mean..."
"I will send people to support you."
Fu Yunlu looked up at Hilda who was placed in a sealed coffin. If the worm that was parasitic in Hilda's body was not lying, then she was one of the first infected people. From any perspective, she was of research value to the Federation.
Aside from falsifying her gender, Hilda hadn't done anything wrong. She had simply saved a child on the battlefield out of kindness, but it had cost her both her life and her future.
Fu Yunlu watched silently as they carried the sealed coffin away. The doctor removed the bullet from his shoulder and carefully cleaned the wound. Because of the anesthetic, Fu Yunlu had no feeling on the left side of his body. He sat leaning against the wall and heard Liang Guanyue's voice from the other side: "What? You don't plan to keep me under house arrest anymore?"
"...Hilda's heavy weapons unit has already left ahead of me. My home isn't safe," Fu Yunlu asked. "Are you willing to return to the main city now?"
"Return to the main city, then what?"
"Then, wait for my good news."
"You sound half dead," Liang Guanyue commented. "I'm afraid I'll only hear news of your death in the line of duty." After a pause, he asked, "Is Hilda dead?"
Fu Yunlu replied, "She's not dead, because the Zerg are parasitic inside her body. Even if she's beaten to a pulp, as long as her central nervous system isn't severed, her body still has a strong ability to self-repair."
"What do you want to say?"
"Did you know that Hilda was parasitized ten years ago?"
Liang Guanyue's expression turned grim: "In the past ten years, no one in District 53 has noticed it?"
Fu Yunlu said, "There are far too few Alphas with S-level spiritual power in the Federation. In the past fifty years, the military has only managed to keep fewer than a hundred S-level surviving in the 123 administrative districts. Unless the local garrison is facing an unsolvable war, they won't come to a barren planet on their own initiative. Furthermore, the parasitic Hilda will definitely avoid them."
Liang Guanyue raised an eyebrow. "So what you're saying is that because my mental power is close to S-level, and Hilda doesn't know about me, I happened to notice something?"
Fu Yunlu said, "Yes. So you have helped me a lot, Guan Yue. Just by discovering that Hilda was different, you have saved so many people."
He whispered, "...You are their hero. I will write a letter to the Führer on your behalf—"
Liang Guanyue interrupted, "I'm not interested in those meaningless honors and commendations."
"What do you want? An official position or money? I will help you apply for it."
"I'm very satisfied with my current life." Liang Guanyue said, "Don't you think now is the time to talk about this?"
"..." Fu Yunlu smiled faintly, "I just want to talk to you more."
"Is it because in your mind, District 53 has been completely equated with 'Zerg City'?" Liang Guanyue said, "If you fail to protect those innocent people, you will be blamed no matter what."
Fu Yunlu smiled bitterly and said, "From a sense of responsibility, I can't retreat. From a selfish point of view..." He whispered, "If I retreat, I won't be able to have the freedom I want—to return to the main city and stay by your side without having to accept any marriage alliance."
He only had this one chance. Fu Liaoyan's weak family affection would only give him this one chance.
Liang Guanyue will not wait for him forever, and he doesn't want Liang Guanyue to wait forever.
Liang Guanyue suddenly asked: "Fu Yunlu, don't you like me?"
Fu Yunlu was stunned for a moment, not knowing why he would ask this. After a few breaths of silence, she spoke: "...If I said that you are more important than everything else, would you believe it?"
Liang Guanyue asked doubtfully: "If you really love me to that extent, don't you want me to be by your side at this time?"
He thought that people should be selfish, ugly, and self-interested at the moment of life and death - if one day he was about to die and Fu Yunlu was by his side, he would definitely ask him to accompany him.
This has nothing to do with love or hatred. For Liang Guanyue, it is probably just like choosing the most satisfying thing as a burial object.
Fu Yunlu paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded to the subordinate who came over to gently urge him, and then patted the doctor to signal him not to hesitate any longer and immediately inject him with a powerful medicine. As he did this, he seemed to have finally composed his words and said with a smile, "Guan Yue, I think I now understand why my mother favors him."
Liang Guanyue frowned, realizing that the 'he' Fu Yunlu was talking about was Fu Yunliang who had committed suicide in prison.
"She pinned her lost freedom on the child she voluntarily gave birth to," Fu Yunlu said. "As her bloodline, I've inherited this bad habit."
After the injection, Fu Yunlu's scattered spirit gradually focused, and his voice became stronger. He still spoke to Liang Guanyue gently, "A person's life is too long, and there are some things that are destined to be beyond my reach... Therefore, I hope you can have a free and happy future, loved by many people."
The moment Liang Guanyue finished speaking, he heard an alarm echoing throughout the sky. The azure dome gradually turned a dark red. The sky of Ninoy Alam was originally disguised by a protective shield, and the meaning of the abnormality in the sky was now obvious. He looked up and said calmly, "Even if the future depends on me, you can't witness it with your own eyes?"
"...How do you know I don't want to?" Fu Yunlu lowered her eyes and smiled, "You know I've done a lot of wrong things. Whether it's asking you to accompany me and take risks, or abandoning the people of District 53 and escaping on my own, I can't do it emotionally or rationally."
Fu Yunlu stood up under the gaze of everyone and walked forward with big strides: "Guan Yue, after this is over, can I move into your house?"
Liang Guanyue said expressionlessly: "My house is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like you."
"Then I'll buy the house across from you."
"I'm sorry, my house has one unit per floor."
Fu Yunlu laughed after hearing this: "Then how can the house be small?"
"You're annoying, you know that?" Liang Guanyue took a deep breath, "I find that I actually kind of hate you."
"..." Fu Yunlu felt much more relieved for some reason, "Thank you."
"You hate me but you still thank me, are you sick?"
"I just wanted to thank you." Fu Yunlu actually wanted to say "I love you", but he thought it would be better to say it the next time they met. He said goodbye as usual: "I have to get busy with work, Guan Yue, see you next time." He pursed his lips and whispered, "Take care of yourself."
“…”
[The 53rd District Garrison Military District Headquarters is now broadcasting an emergency message for you.]
Fu Yunlu, the Internal Investigation Officer of the 53rd Administrative District, greets all citizens.
[It has been verified that Hilda, commander of the garrison headquarters in the 53rd Administrative District of Ninobea, has been infected by the Zerg, and a significant number of latent infected individuals remain within the district. The current Zerg biological infection incident is attributed to an unknown Zerg evolutionary form, and the contamination is currently continuing to spread.]
The 53rd Administrative District of Ninoy Aquino has been ordered to implement a full lockdown. All entrances and exits are temporarily closed. All vessels without direct authorization from the Executive Officer and the Defense Monitoring Agency are prohibited from leaving the territory. Violators will be executed on the spot for intentionally spreading the source of infection.
The stationed troops immediately shifted to "scavenger" combat mode, authorizing the use of all weaponry and mechas of all levels to eliminate the invading Zerg. The damage to the protective shield was minor, and professional personnel have been dispatched for repairs.
[The Zerg infection target has been confirmed to be a beta. Citizens who meet the infection criteria should immediately go to the nearest designated testing facility for testing.]
Fu Yunlu's serious and heavy expression appeared on every citizen terminal in District 53. His shoulder was roughly bandaged. Even though the special bullet was quickly removed and bandaged, the blood still stained the area red. His pale face always looked at the camera with a pair of determined eyes.
May the God of Liberty and Equality protect all citizens of Ninoy Alam. The Federation stands with you.
This was the image Liang Guanyue saw in his terminal as he was about to board the spaceship back to the main city. This broadcast was forced to skip over all his windows, playing repeatedly at the highest priority. Only after the third playback was completed did this image become a scrolling text at the top.
Just as Fu Yunlu said, the military's heavy weapons unit was really looking for Liang Guanyue. As soon as they left, Fu Yunlu's home was bombed. Except for the captain of the guard and several other personal guards who protected him every step of the way, the rest all stayed where they were to kill the soldiers infested by the Zerg.
"Liang Guanyue! I just saw online that there's a problem with the shield in Area 53!" Fana bombarded me with messages, "Fuck, that's scary! Are you okay? Come back quickly! It's too dangerous!"
Seeing that he didn't reply, she immediately said, "Could it be that Fu Yunlu doesn't want you to come back?!"
"Oh my god, what happened to Area 53?! I just saw the news and the entire area is blocked?!"
Fan Na was so anxious that she made a phone call. Liang Guanyue, who had just confirmed that she was safe, had just answered when the person on the other end asked anxiously, "Where are you, brat?!"
Liang Guanyue said: "I'm on my way to the jump point."
"Leap?" Fanna was stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so scared! So he's coming back. I thought Fu Yunlu was crazy and wouldn't let him go."
Liang Guanyue glanced at the spaceship parked at the jump point and asked the guard captain who was standing vigilantly beside him, "Whose jump ship is this?"
The chief guard said, "Don't worry, this jump ship is your highness's personal property. Professionals conducted a comprehensive inspection yesterday and there are no safety issues."
"Yesterday?" Liang Guanyue sneered inexplicably. Fan Na said, "What do you mean by yesterday and today? Who were you talking to just now? Fu Yunlu? Is he going back to the main city with you?"
Liang Guanyue said, "You're too noisy. I'm thinking about something now. I'll talk to you when I get back."
"No, you don't want to—" Before she could finish her sentence, Fana heard the beeping sound of the phone being hung up. She covered her head and collapsed, "You damn kid, you don't want to come back and attack me, do you?"
Liang Guanyue stood there and took a deep breath, but the more he took a deep breath, the angrier he became: So Fu Yunlu stayed up all night last night, not only preparing for a head-on confrontation with Hilda, but also took the time to arrange a retreat for him, Liang Guanyue, in advance?
Is it a big deal that I’m ten years older than him?
Fu Yunlu had no blood relationship with him. She was neither his father nor his mother, so why did she act like a patriarch and arrange things for him?
But Fu Yunlu seemed to know that Liang Guanyue would be dissatisfied and angry about this. When the door of the spaceship was about to close, the captain of the guards took out a folded note from his pocket.
"Mr. Liang, His Highness instructed me to make sure you board the spaceship back to the main city, but before the spaceship takes off, I gave you this note." After saying this, he walked towards the cockpit avoiding suspicion.
Liang Guanyue opened the note, and there was only one line of neat words on it:
"You have the right to choose whichever path you want to take, any one of them is fine, as long as you are happy."
Liang Guanyue stared at the note in a daze. He didn't know how much time had passed until the sound of the hatch closing was heard. He came to his senses, raised his head, walked to the cockpit and said to the chief guard:
"...Open the door, I need to go back."
He really hated people like Fu Yunlu.
"I forgot something there."
Arrogant, mean, weak, blind and stupid -
An item of Liang Guanyue's that must be taken back.
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