218: The pain of giving

She was Tu Nan.

But what did that have to do with this?

Time lost its inherent order; countless fragments of Kong Jiamu flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern, appearing and disappearing.

"I didn't tell you this just so you could faint. Wake up."

"Don't make me regret my decision," The Emperor warned Tu Nan.

He propped Tu Nan up, leaned down, and moved closer to her.

"Believe me, Kong Jiamu needs you."

"He... needs me..."

Tu Nan shuddered as if struck by an electric current.

All those fragments, indistinguishable between dreams and longing, instantly dissipated.

After waking from that disordered stupor, her eyes finally found their focus.

They met the deep, calm golden eyes of The Emperor right in front of her.

Confirming that her mind had indeed stabilized, The Emperor let go.

"Gamma Star is very wrong. I'm going to the front lines."

"Departing immediately."

"You're coming too."

The Emperor seemed unshaken by this bad news; he simply faced and solved problems continuously.

"Kong Jiamu will wait for me."

"I need to check his spiritual sea, and you—"

"Go and call him back."

The Emperor flicked the hem of his robe and stepped out of the study on his own.

"Talk to Yuan Zhe about whatever you want to bring. Go pack your things."

Good.

Tu Nan thought that it was a bit too early to be sad; Kong Jiamu wasn't dead yet!

She was going to the border with His Majesty to mock that peacock; she had no time to think about miscellaneous things.

What to bring?

Bring people!

"Lance! Can you accompany me on a long trip? When? Now! What for? I'll explain on the way... Okay, thank you, good Lance."

"Gaia, can you stay in the palace for a while with Amy and help me take care of Ao Ao and Miao Miao? Me? I have urgent business and need to go out... I know, I'll bring a doctor. Yes, Lance is coming too. Okay."

"James... His Majesty already gave the orders? Good, good."

By the time Tu Nan finished these arrangements and stepped out the door, Peng Tianyu was waiting quietly to the side.

"Let's go. His Majesty wants our squad to stay close to you."

Tu Nan gazed at the rising sun.

Wait for me, Kong Jiamu!

***

Li was helped out, soaking wet, from the Treatment Pod next to Kong Jiamu's.

Ignoring the fact that his body was still weak and limp, he immediately looked to the other side.

"How is Major General Kong?"

He asked impatiently.

"For now, we can say his life has been saved."

Ryan, the Legion Commander of the Sixth Legion, was actually in the treatment room, and he answered Li's question.

"That is thanks to you."

"For now? What does that mean?"

"It means that his wounds were sewn up at the last moment and he was stuffed into a Treatment Pod. At least he's still breathing."

Ryan walked to the Treatment Pod and looked at the man suspended in the healing fluid.

"But his spiritual sea has no fluctuations, and his brain waves are intermittent."

"If he can't be brought back..."

"He will stay like this forever."

Li understood.

If he wasn't brought back, it meant Major General Kong would become a vegetable.

He had heard of and seen comrades injured like this; after falling into this state, the longest they had slept in a Treatment Pod was three months.

The military wouldn't pay Treatment Pod fees indefinitely. Once the family members despairingly accepted the truth, they would be taken off treatment.

Kong Jiamu was naturally different.

His wealth and military rank were certainly enough to support the ongoing costs of a Treatment Pod.

However, if he knew he would never wake up...

What would he think?

"Your name is Li? You did very well."

Ryan personally handed Li a complete set of military uniforms.

"Tell me, how did you find Major General Kong?"

Ryan's adjutant, Mayer, brought a chair for Li and told him to sit.

Meanwhile, Ryan had already sat down on a companion chair in the treatment room.

This looked like concern, but it was essentially a soft interrogation.

The old Li wouldn't have seen through this, but in the Suicide Squad, he had learned much at the cost of blood and life over and over again.

This made him realize that although he had brought back Major General Kong, the Legion Commander suspected him.

And he was indeed suspicious.

"As you can see, I am a Chaotic Beast, merely a member of the Suicide Squad."

Li looked at the floating Kong Jiamu and began to narrate the events in a calm tone.

"That day, Star Worms suddenly appeared inside our defensive lines. Without a front line, the battlefield was everywhere."

He was describing the changes on the battlefield three days ago after he had parted with Kong Jiamu in the canteen.

"Our unit's station wasn't attacked, so we were waiting for assignments."

"I heard we were so passive because something went wrong with the Starry Sky Defense Chain."

Legion Commander Ryan shifted his posture slightly in his seat.

Li glanced up at him, and the other man signaled for him to continue.

"Then, this part is what I heard. We were in the camp, and everyone was asking about the progress of the battle."

"They said Major General Kong refused to evacuate the defense line, saying that only by repairing the defense chain could we regain the advantage on the battlefield."

"No need to mention that," Ryan frowned. "It's just rumors from the subordinates."

"Get straight to the later part. Why were you still on the battlefield when your superior ordered a retreat?"

"Also, with Energy-devouring Bugss all over the Star Worm side, how did you get Kong Jiamu out?"

Did the Legion Commander seem unhappy with his disobedience?

Li thought somewhat sluggishly.

"I did indeed disobey orders. If I have to go to a military court..." He didn't regret it.

"Tsk!" The Legion Commander gave his adjutant an impatient look.

Mayer softened his expression to smooth things over for his superior, who had begun to suffer from total insomnia these past few days.

He said to Li, "Don't overthink it. No one is blaming you. You saved Major General Kong; that's a definite military achievement. However, we have to follow the standard procedures."

"If we don't ask, the Inspection Team will."

Li understood. What they wanted to know most was how he had avoided the detection of the Energy-devouring Bugss.

"Actually, I only discovered that day that I could avoid the Energy-devouring Bugss."

Li wasn't as complicated as they thought.

Kong Jiamu had led maintenance personnel to break through the Star Worm defense line all the way to the Central Control Tower. After sending the people inside, he stayed outside with his own men to block the Star Worms' attack.

The news sent back to the camp was very encouraging, until a Star Worm Point appeared in the sky again, and with a flash, a pitch-black insect squeezed out.

They were born to chase energy; just one could make the entire battlefield treat it as a formidable enemy.

Thermal weapons were ineffective, and attacks from high-level Beastmen were not only useless but would even feed them.

They could only be kept out by the already established Star Chain Defense Net.

Then, unmanned starships would be used to slowly cut and wear them down.

The energy-filled Central Control Tower was practically a sweet pastry in front of it.

A giant green peacock, its feathers all ablaze with fire, streaked across the sky toward the distance just as the Energy-devouring Bugs's form emerged in the air.

It was completely drawn to that bird with its exceptionally prominent energy.

"Major General Kong flew away with that worm."

"My comrade cried. He said Major General Kong wanted to sacrifice himself to save the defense line and everyone."

Ryan nodded.

"I wanted to help him. He couldn't die."

Li told the people present.