Chapter 25: Ambiguity and Weirdness 1
Lin Yao turned and walked towards the tea table, tapped his fingertips on the energy furnace, and the light green calming tea flowed through the pipe into the transparent cup, and the fragrance of calming grass wafted out in the misty hot air.
When he handed the teacup to Ye Heng, his eyes inadvertently swept over him. Even though he was sitting on the soft floating sofa, his back was still straight, his knees were together, and his hands were resting on his knees, as standard as a mecha model ready to go at any time.
"Calming tea." Lin Yao placed the cup on the coffee table in front of him and silently swallowed back the words 'you can sit anywhere you want'.
Judging from his posture, if he was given a pillow, he would only fold it neatly and place it beside him. He would never lie down like himself and spend the whole day looking at all kinds of information in the computer.
Ye Heng picked up the teacup, and when his fingertips touched the warm wall of the cup, he relaxed a little.
He took a sip of tea, the bitter taste of the tranquilizing grass melting on his tongue. The humming sound of the drainage cabin operating was clear to his ears. "Is that Old K in there?"
He turned his head to look at the closed door, his blurry shadow reflected on the metal surface.
"Yeah." Lin Yao was checking the medication list for Old K on the computer, and the tip of his pen drew tiny dots of light on the virtual screen.
As soon as he finished speaking, the monitor suddenly made a slight sound, and the countdown numbers on the light screen jumped to "00:05".
Lin Yao looked up at the screen, then turned to look at Ye Heng. The ice-blue vines swayed gently on his sleeves: "It's almost over."
Ye Heng's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, and questions naturally came out: "How is he? When I first came here, I heard the monitor beeping loudly."
Seeing Lin Yao's pen tip sliding across the screen, he added, "You weren't injured during the treatment, were you?"
"Not bad. Although the crack is wide, it's relatively neat." Lin Yao pulled up the scan of Old K's spirit body. The grizzly bear's outline in the three-dimensional projection had become much clearer, and the shadow of its right hind paw was emitting a faint white light. "It consumed a lot of mental energy, but it's not injured."
Hearing the words 'not hurt', Ye Heng put the teacup back, a trace of relief flashing across his dark green eyes.
He looked at Lin Yao's focused profile and suddenly changed the subject: "Are you going to get off work?"
Hearing this, Lin Yao suddenly raised the corners of his lips, and a mischievous light flashed in his eyes, as if he had caught something interesting: "No!"
Ye Heng looked at his amused expression, stunned for a moment, then reacted. A faint blush crept into his ears, but he maintained a stern face and replied seriously, "As the commander of the Red Shadow Army, it is my duty to comfort my injured subordinates."
"That's right, you are a very good leader!" Lin Yao nodded in cooperation with a smile in his eyes. If you ignore the cunning in his eyes, this conversation is very normal.
Lin Yao then slid his fingertips across the computer, pulled up Zhao Feng's contact information, typed a few words, and neatly pressed the send button:
'The evacuation here will end in five minutes!'
"I have a big surprise!"
Ye Heng's fingers gently rubbed his knees, a hint of understanding in his dark green eyes. He looked at Lin Yao and said sincerely, "Thank you very much, Zhao Feng, for your treatment."
"Within the scope of my duties." Lin Yao replied without raising his head, sliding the tip of his pen across the light computer, looking at the treatment records automatically generated by Lao K, and making changes to any inappropriate parts he remembered.
For him, guiding the sentries was part of his job, and it made no difference whether it was Zhao Feng or Lao K.
Ye Heng wanted to say something, but the monitor suddenly issued a soft prompt tone, interrupting him.
"It's time." Lin Yao stood up, ice-blue vines poking out from his sleeves. He walked to the evacuation area and placed his hand lightly on the control panel of the evacuation cabin.
As he tapped his fingertips, the hatch slowly slid open, and the energy film receded like the tide, revealing Old K sleeping peacefully inside.
After a while, Old K's eyelashes trembled and he slowly opened his eyes.
He blinked blankly at first, then moved his fingers. His arms, which had felt like they were filled with lead, now seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden.
What surprised him even more was that the tearing pain in his spiritual sea completely disappeared, replaced by a long-lost lightness, and even the scene before his eyes became much clearer.
"I..." Old K supported himself against the wall and sat up. He lowered his head to look at his hands, then turned to look at Lin Yao outside the cabin. His dark face was full of disbelief. "Mumu, am I... okay?"
"It's not completely healed, but the barrier is stable." Lin Yao walked to the side of the cabin and handed him a clean towel. "The medicine will gradually stabilize next. There's no need to rush."
Old K took the towel and wiped his face roughly, but his eyes were quietly red.
He recalled last night when he was curled up in bed in pain, even his spirit form, the Iron Bear, was whimpering. At that time, he really felt that he could not hold on any longer.
At this moment, he felt the peaceful fluctuations in his spiritual sea, and looked at the fatigue in Lin Yao's eyes. His throat seemed to be blocked by something, and thousands of words turned into a choked "thank you".
"What are you thanking me for, teammate?" Lin Yao smiled and reached out to help him. "Let's go to the office. I need to tell you some things to pay attention to."
Old K nodded and stood up with the help of Lin Yao. The metal prosthesis made a "click" sound when it touched the ground, but it was much more stable than when he came.
He followed Lin Yao to the office area. When he saw Ye Heng on the sofa, he suddenly stopped, his pupils constricted, revealing a hint of doubt and fear.
Old K subconsciously straightened his back, raised his right hand to his forehead, and gave a not-so-standard military salute: "Marshal!"
Lin Yao had his back to Old K and didn't notice anything strange about him. Ye Heng focused most of his attention on Lin Yao, but this slight emotional fluctuation did not escape the perception of this 3S-level sentinel.
But Ye Heng was very patient and didn't show it easily. Instead, he nodded slightly, his eyes swept over him, and when they fell on the metal prosthesis under his trouser leg, he said calmly: "You're recovering well."
Then Ye Heng picked up the teacup and continued to taste the calming tea.
"Please sit down." After seeing that the two had already exchanged greetings as superiors and subordinates, Lin Yao spoke. He pulled over a chair, turned on the light brain, and projected Lao K's nursing list between the two of them.
"Here are the precautions for the next two weeks: take energy supplements three times a day after meals; don't touch anything heavier than 50 kilograms; don't use your mental power for three days; and avoid going to the training ground if you can! We can't crack the barrier we just repaired!"
"Come to my place next month for a cleanup and consolidation session. I've added your name to the booking system."
Lin Yao pointed to the star map mark on the list and said, "This is the pick-up point for energy supplements. Just state your name. Your application has been approved."
His fingertips traced across a line of text. "Also, this: Inject the consolidator at this frequency. Be sure to follow this. Otherwise, it will increase the burden on the barrier."
Old K stared at the handwriting on the list, then looked at Lin Yao's tired face. During the counseling, he was unconscious because of the function of the counseling warehouse.
But from seeing Lin Yao's different expressions before and after, Old K knew how much mental energy the other party had spent to save him.
He suddenly felt that the salt-baked dried star fish he had brought with him was not enough, so he searched his pockets again.
After a while, he took out a safety stone tied with a red string and stuffed it into Lin Yao's hand: "This is made by my girl herself. She said it can keep you safe. Take it with you."
The stone is an ordinary black gold stone with a golden fragrant grass mixed in the red rope. It is not only a decoration, but also emits a faint fragrance. Such stones are very common in the interstellar space.
Fragrant grass has a calming effect. This peace stone was probably woven by Old K's daughter to help Old K.
Lin Yao held the peace stone, put it down and returned it.
"This stone..." Old K looked at Lin Yao helplessly, his tone full of hesitation.
"Really?" Lin Yao pointed at the golden fragrant grass. "It's your daughter's gift, so it's most appropriate for you to carry it."
He looked at Old K's drooping shoulders and suddenly smiled. "How about this? Ask her to weave a new one for me in her favorite color. Bring it to me when you come next month. I'll take it as a reservation. How about that?"
Old K suddenly looked up, a smile instantly breaking out on his dark face, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming creased into flowers. "Okay! Okay! I'll go back and tell her to braid the strongest one for you!"
He carefully put the peace stone back into his arms, as if he had hidden a treasure, and patted the canvas bag. "Then I'll be leaving, Mumu. See you next time!"
"See you next time." Lin Yao nodded and watched him throw the canvas bag over his shoulder, and the metal prosthesis made a light sound on the ground.
Before leaving, Old K saluted Ye Heng again and said goodbye, but his military posture was still not very standard.
Before Old K could completely lower his hand, the door to the counseling room was pushed open with a bang, and Zhao Feng's voice broke in first:
"Guide Lin, you said yesterday you wanted something sweet. I brought you some Star Honey Cakes today. You..."
The words got stuck in my throat, as if someone had suddenly grabbed my neck.
His hand holding the food box froze in mid-air. He first glanced at Old K at the door, then looked in the direction the other party was saluting.
The person sitting on the sofa was wearing a black and red uniform. The snake-shaped totem epaulettes shone coldly in the light, and his dark green eyes were looking at him calmly.
Zhao Feng's little heart beat with a "boom", then a "boom" again, so fast that it seemed like it would burst through his chest.
No way! Why is the Marshal here?!
The tone and familiarity of his voice just now made him sound like a brother who was about to get close to Lin Yao... Zhao Feng wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into right then and there. His back instantly tensed up and his palms were sweating.
Old K didn't notice his embarrassment and said goodbye to Lin Yao cheerfully again: "The person you made an appointment with has arrived? Then I'll be leaving first. I won't delay your work, Mumu!"
As she spoke, she squeezed past him sideways, and the canvas bag made a slight sound as it brushed against the door frame.
Before the door even closed, Zhao Feng had already snapped his heels together and saluted with a perfectly accurate military salute, his voice eight octaves more tense than before: "Marshal! Guide Lin!"
Lin Yao almost couldn't help laughing when he saw his 180-degree change.
A few days ago, I was still talking to him about how heroic and calm he was on the battlefield. But now, when he met his direct leader, he stood like a taut string, and even his breathing was lightened.
Ye Heng's eyes fell on the food box in his hand, and he said lightly: "Come to do the counseling?"
"Yes!" Zhao Feng's Adam's apple rolled noticeably when he responded.
"Yeah." Ye Heng nodded. "How is your treatment going?"
"Everything is fine with you!" Zhao Feng glanced at Lin Yao and answered in a serious tone, each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, for fear that saying one more word would make a mistake.
He promised Lin Yao not to tell anyone about this matter, but as a soldier, he could not lie to the marshal, so he could only give an unimportant answer.
Hearing such ambiguous words, Ye Heng's expression did not change, he just gestured to him: "Go, don't waste time."
The tone was as calm as if he was saying that the weather was nice today, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.
Zhao Feng felt as if he had been pardoned. After saluting again, he quickly walked towards Lin Yao with the food box in hand.
When passing by Ye Heng, he bent his waist almost to his knees, and walked lightly as if he was afraid of startling something. He was just like a little rabbit that had strayed into the territory of a tiger. He even felt that his own shadow was a hindrance and moved to the side deliberately.
Lin Yao took the lunch box and placed it on his desk. His fingertips touched the wall of the box, which was still slightly warm. He raised his chin at Zhao Feng and told him to go to the reception area.
The door to the evacuation area closed with a click, isolating the invisible pressure from outside. Zhao Feng suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and his shoulders instantly slumped, like a popped balloon.
"Guide Lin, you're so mean!" He leaned over to Lin Yao and muttered in a low voice, a hint of accusation in his tone, "You said there was a surprise, but who would consider the marshal a surprise? This is clearly a shock!"
An ice-blue vine poked out from Lin Yao's sleeve, gently patted his arm, and seemed to be laughing.
Lin Yao raised his eyebrows: "Isn't this a surprise?"
He knew Zhao Feng too well. Even though this kid acted like a mouse meeting a cat when he saw Ye Heng, he even secretly told him during the last counseling session that the screen saver of his phone was a photo of Ye Heng at the commendation meeting.
"How do you keep muttering, 'When can I talk to the Marshal?'?"
"That's different!" Zhao Feng's face flushed with anxiety, his fingers unconsciously twisting the corners of his clothes. "Some people are meant to be admired from afar!"
"Just think about it, him standing on the command platform giving orders is impressive; but when he sits across from you drinking tea, it's oppressive! My palms were sweating just now, I was afraid I'd say a single wrong word."
Lin Yao thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. The aura of Ye Heng, who had been in a high position for many years, was indeed not something that everyone could withstand. As his subordinate, it was inevitable that he would feel restrained when in close contact with him.
Perhaps he knew Ye Heng from 'Su Ye'. After the two of them started talking, as long as Ye Heng returned to Su Ye mode and restrained his aura, Lin Yao would unconsciously adapt quickly, and the relationship between the two was as natural as on the training ground.
Lin Yao suppressed his laughter: "Okay, I was wrong."
His fingertips tapped lightly on the operating table, and the door of the evacuation chamber slowly slid open, and a film of energy light flowed inside the cabin. "Since you are afraid of him, go in and hide first. It's a good opportunity to cleanse your spiritual sea."
Zhao Feng looked at the cabin, as if he had seen a savior, and nodded quickly: "Hey! Good!"
He swiftly took off his coat and draped it over the chair beside him. As he bent down and entered the evacuation chamber, he turned back and reminded, "Guide Lin, if he asks me anything, you have to help me!"
"Don't worry, your Marshal is not that idle." Lin Yao called up his mental power monitoring data, "Relax, don't think about the outside world, and focus on counseling."
The lid of the evacuation chamber closed, blocking out Zhao Feng's last bit of worried gaze.
Lin Yao looked at the waveform that began to jump steadily on the light screen and couldn't help shaking his head. This kid could be telling him how brave Marshal Ye was the previous second, but he became so cowardly when he saw the real boss the next second. It was really a strange thing.
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