163: Chapter 163 Empress: Father God, I've finally touched you!

"Clang—"

That massive alloy greatsword, weighing hundreds of catties and having severed the heads of countless mutated beasts, was simply abandoned by its owner at the bottom of the gravel-filled crater.

Jiang Wanqiu couldn't care less about it.

At this moment, only this man remained in her world.

There was no electrical interference from holographic projections, no signal delay across light-years.

He was just standing there, wearing that slightly wrinkled casual suit, his hair messy from the starship's airflow, and even a bead of sweat from his anxious rush hanging on the tip of his nose.

Not perfect.

Not at all like the aloof, ethereal god depicted in mythological murals.

But for Jiang Wanqiu, this was the reality she had dreamed of.

"Father God..."

She tentatively took a step forward but stumbled due to weak legs.

Her severely damaged nano-armor had lost its power assist and was now incredibly heavy.

Jiang Chen felt his heart tighten, and before she could fall, he rushed forward with long strides.

He opened his arms and, without any hesitation, pulled the girl, covered in smoke and the smell of blood, into his embrace.

"Thump."

Two bodies collided.

In that instant, time seemed to stop flowing.

Jiang Wanqiu froze.

Her face was pressed against Jiang Chen's chest, and in her ears came the powerful and rapid "thump, thump, thump" of his heartbeat.

That wasn't a frequency simulated by data; that was the rhythm of a living life.

A wave of scorching body heat passed through the thin clothing, continuously transferring over, instantly dispelling the bone-chilling cold she had accumulated while traversing the spacetime turbulence.

It was real.

It was hot.

It was alive!

"Waaaah—!!!"

The longing, grievances, and panic that had been bottled up for countless days and nights completely broke through the dam at this moment.

Jiang Wanqiu grabbed Jiang Chen's back tightly, her fingers exerting so much force that she almost tore his expensive jacket.

She buried her head in the crook of Jiang Chen's neck, crying heartbreakingly, completely shedding any trace of the Empress's demeanor.

"I thought... I thought I would never see you again..."

"That passage was so dark... so cold... there was wind like knives everywhere..."

"I was so scared... but I didn't dare stop, I was afraid that if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to find the way home..."

She cried like a little girl who couldn't find her way home, smearing tears and snot all over Jiang Chen's neck.

Jiang Chen felt as if his throat was blocked by something, feeling incredibly sore and choked up.

He lowered his head, looking at the shivering girl in his arms.

At this moment, where was even a shred of the ferocity of the "yandere Empress"?

The armor on her body was already tattered, and the large areas of exposed skin were covered in fine bloodstains, cuts from spatial rifts.

Her once smooth silver hair was now scorched in several places, and her face was streaked with black and white, looking so disheveled that it made one's heart ache.

To see him, she had truly risked her life.

"Silly girl."

Jiang Chen sighed, tightened his arms to hold her closer, and gently rested his chin on the top of her head:

"Didn't I tell you to wait three days?"

"What's the rush? I wasn't going anywhere."

"Three days?"

Jiang Wanqiu sobbed and looked up, her red, swollen eyes still brimming with tears, yet showing a stubborn persistence:

"Three days is too long... I couldn't wait even a second!"

"What if... what if that vixen snatched you away during those three days?"

As she spoke, she reached out a hand, trembling as she touched Jiang Chen's cheek.

Her fingertips were cold and calloused.

When she truly touched that warm skin, Jiang Wanqiu's body shuddered violently, and her eyes erupted with an almost greedy infatuation.

She traced Jiang Chen's contours with her fingers, little by little.

From his eyebrows, to the bridge of his nose, and then to his lips.

That real tactile sensation made her feel as if she were stepping on clouds, and her whole being was about to melt.

"Finally... touched you..."

Jiang Wanqiu muttered to herself, the corners of her mouth uncontrollably lifting into a silly smile, though her tears flowed even more fiercely:

"Father God, your face is so soft... even softer than I imagined."

"And this scent..."

She sniffed at Jiang Chen's neck like a puppy, looking intoxicated:

"It's the smell of sunshine, and... is that cumin?"

Jiang Chen's old face flushed red.

That was left over from grilling lamb skewers on the starship earlier.

"Ahem, stop sniffing, it's all just cooking fumes."

Jiang Chen awkwardly tried to push her away a little, wanting to check her injuries, "Let me see your wounds, that impact just now wasn't light, did you break any bones?"

"No! I won't let go!"

Jiang Wanqiu sensed Jiang Chen's intention and immediately hugged his waist vigilantly, clinging to him like a koala, refusing to let go no matter what.

"These small injuries are nothing! Back when I killed mutated beasts, even with my intestines spilling out, I would still slash three more times!"

She rubbed her face against Jiang Chen's chest, her voice soft and sweet:

"As long as Father God hugs me, it won't hurt anymore."

Jiang Chen looked at this shameless girl, feeling both angry and amused, but mostly heartbroken.

He shook his head helplessly, having no choice but to let her hold him.

One hand gently patted her back to comfort her, while the other quietly retrieved a [Nano Repair Spray] from the system space.

"Fine, fine, hugs, hugs."

"But you have to be obedient, spray this medicine first. Look at your back, the skin is scraped off, doesn't it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt!"

Jiang Wanqiu tilted her face up, smiling like a child who had received candy, "This is the 'Medal of Love'! It's the proof left behind because Father God came to save me!"

This logic was hopeless.

Right there in the ruins, the two were being affectionate as if no one else were around, and the surrounding air seemed to turn pink.

That reunion, which spanned life, death, and dimensions, made all language seem pale.

However.

Good times are always short-lived, especially on the eve of a jealous confrontation about to erupt.

"Squeak—"

Above, the hovering luan niao starship suddenly lowered a tractor beam.

Immediately after, the lift platform specifically used for transporting personnel slowly landed.

A burst of rapid, professional-sounding high-heeled footsteps shattered this romantic atmosphere.

"Jiang Chen! How is the alien biological sample?"

"The impact data just now showed that her vital signs are extremely unstable! Emergency treatment is required immediately!"

Academician Chen Shuyin's voice came from behind.

She was carrying that signature silver medical kit, still wearing that starry evening gown, but with a white lab coat over it, looking both incongruous and capable.

She rushed over in a hurry, evidently very worried about whether Jiang Wanqiu would live or die—of course, more worried that this precious "sample" would kick the bucket.

Hearing this voice.

Jiang Wanqiu, who was clinging to Jiang Chen, stiffened instantly.

The little kitten that was acting soft and sweet a second ago, in this instant, had all her fur stand on end.

She slowly turned her head.

She looked at the woman who was running over.

The obsession and tenderness in her eyes vanished without a trace, replaced by the suffocating coldness and hostility of someone who had killed their way through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Is it you?"

Jiang Wanqiu narrowed her eyes, her voice low and hoarse, as if squeezed out from between her teeth:

"The one... seducing my Father God in the sky, that vixen?"

She released one of the hands holding Jiang Chen.

"Buzz—"

Even though her armor was damaged, the high-frequency vibration blade on her wrist instantly popped out, emitting a hum thirsty for blood.

"Father God, move aside."

Jiang Wanqiu retreated from Jiang Chen's embrace, stood in front of him, and pointed the sharp blade directly at Academician Chen Shuyin's throat, full of murderous intent:

"This woman who doesn't know what death is..."

"Leave her to me!"