221: See you, see you

Tu Nan saw Kong Jiamu, who was as pure as a child.

The air in the treatment room was dry and cold, as if even time had been frozen.

This place had already been cleared at the request of His Majesty the Emperor; it was empty, with only that transparent Treatment Pod placed in the center of the room.

The completely naked Kong Jiamu seemed to be merely in a deep sleep.

He was suspended in the liquid, his limbs long and slender, and his long hair had already been shaved close to the scalp.

When the Peacock wakes up and finds only this much of his "feathers" left, he's going to make a scene.

Tu Nan smiled gently, but her eyes shimmered with tears.

She approached softly, getting closer and closer.

Pressing her palm against the wall of the Treatment Pod, she touched him as if across an entire Universe.

This inexplicably reminded her of when she was on the Hongtu, seeing him flip and jump into the starry sky through the starship's viewing window.

In that moment of transformation, Kong Jiamu had turned back to wink at her.

Look at me, look only at me; there is no bird in the whole world more beautiful than me.

Kong Jiamu was always someone to be envied.

"I'm here, hey," Tu Nan asked him softly, "Why are you still sleeping?"

The tears in her eyes slid down silently, and her nose felt sharp with grief.

"You promised me you'd be fine. Breaking a promise makes you fat."

"If you're fat... you won't be beautiful."

Tu Nan laughed, "No, I'm lying. You look very beautiful with short hair too, surprisingly so."

The buzz cut allowed her to see Kong Jiamu's perfect head shape, making his features appear even more slender and sharp. He was like a perfect creature collected in a jar by some alien species.

Not a single part was not beautiful, except for his refusal to open his eyes.

"Let me see."

The Emperor stood on her right side; he reached out his left hand and pressed it over Tu Nan's right hand, applying slight pressure.

Tu Nan's palm was pressed tightly against the pod wall by his cold hand without any gap, showing his strength.

The Emperor was not as calm as he appeared.

"Save some strength for me; I don't want to help you with synchronization right now."

Tu Nan nodded slightly, telling herself to control her emotions.

The Emperor was about to act, and she didn't need him to divert extra energy.

The Emperor stepped onto the high platform on one side and pushed open the pod cover.

Staring at Kong Jiamu, he leaned over and slowly reached both hands into the treatment fluid.

His movements were very light, clearly intended to keep Kong Jiamu submerged in the liquid; he only gently held the other's head.

The Peacock still swayed slightly in the liquid, his slender hands spreading out, fingers brushing against the pod wall.

They passed by Tu Nan's palm and then slipped away.

Tu Nan held her breath for an instant, then let it go.

It was just a small vibration.

It wasn't that... he had woken up.

She looked up at The Emperor. His Majesty's eyes were open, and the color in his golden pupils was constantly swirling and tumbling in varying depths.

It was similar to the distorted time and space outside during a starship jump.

"Don't look." The Emperor couldn't look at her; he was staring intently at Kong Jiamu.

Tu Nan once again couldn't turn her gaze away on her own, but now The Emperor couldn't cover her eyes.

A silver-white metal loomed before her eyes.

It was a Silver Armored Knight reaching out, finally blocking her gaze.

Tu Nan quickly turned her head, not daring to look again.

That Silver Armored Knight had already stood directly where The Emperor had been; he was as tall as The Emperor, perfectly blocking her view of His Majesty the Emperor.

"I won't look again."

She made sure to keep her gaze only on the Peacock.

Looking forward to， Waiting.

But an hour later, The Emperor relaxed his hands, letting the Peacock continue to float.

He stepped down from the high platform, propping up his forehead in deep thought.

"It didn't work?"

Tu Nan pushed aside the Silver Armored Knight in front of her and rushed forward to grab His Majesty the Emperor.

"I can't find it. His spiritual sea is burnt out; I need to find at least a small spark."

"Let me do it. Didn't you say I could wake him up? How do I do it?"

This was her purpose for coming here.

The Emperor, however, hesitated.

"I'll try again tomorrow first. If it still doesn't work, I'll take you with me the day after tomorrow."

"I can do it now."

Didn't they say that every extra day of delay meant another day of risk for the Peacock?

"This isn't without risk. A complete operation on the spiritual sea isn't that simple for me either; I can't do it again today."

"Then take me with you tomorrow." Tu Nan didn't know what The Emperor was considering; since he brought her here, he should have known she was willing to face such risks.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

He suddenly began to cough, and it grew increasingly violent.

Tu Nan understood. Such delicate operations were not simple even for His Majesty the Emperor. He was feeling the pressure, and taking her along might be even more difficult for him.

"You... how are you? Where's the medicine?" Tu Nan was a bit flustered.

Yuan Zhe wasn't here; where was The Emperor's medicine?

A small folding respirator was handed to The Emperor; it was pulled out from the arm armor mechanism by the Silver Armored Knight.

The Emperor took several breaths before recovering.

He spoke to Tu Nan again.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. You need to get some good rest first, understand?"

Tu Nan looked back at Kong Jiamu and nodded hard.

Yes, she needed to be in good condition, and His Majesty the Emperor needed to be in good condition too.

Only when they were both ready would it be possible to successfully catch that damnable Peacock.

"Take her to rest."

Walking out of the treatment room, His Majesty the Emperor handed her over to Peng Tianyu, then asked Mayer, who was waiting outside.

"Tell me in detail about his actions this time."

Tu Nan grit her teeth; everyone had their own task. And her task today was to rest. She forced herself to follow Peng Tianyu away from the place.

She didn't know that a figure had his eyes glued to her from the moment she stepped into this building.

It was Li.

"Tu Nan, Tu Nan..."

He chewed this name silently between his teeth, both bitter and sweet.

She was right before his eyes, yet... out of reach.

He wanted to rush to her side, but invisible chains grew from the ground, locking him down. He didn't dare destroy Tu Nan's life, didn't dare let her be hurt again.

Yes, he had slowly come to understand later... the reasons why Tu Nan had left him.

That really hurt.

But he would rather hurt than regret finally waking up.

***

The Emperor didn't say a word for a long while; Mayer didn't dare urge him and waited obediently.

"What do you think of that person?"

He suddenly asked.

Mayer immediately replied: "Li? We checked; this time it really should be a coincidence. He had lunch with Major General Kong that day, and the surveillance has been retrieved."

"We extracted and verified the conversation; it's consistent with what he said."

"He can't transform. I didn't expect that because of this, he could avoid being discovered by the Energy-devouring Bugs, while Colonel Kong's energy was already dissipating at that time."

"The Legion Commander's meaning is that it's worth recording a great merit. He's from the Suicide Squad, and our meaning is..."

Although he didn't know why The Emperor was so focused on this person, even specifically instructing to leave him alone in the cleared medical area before arriving, Mayer wasn't stupid enough to ask.

"He was following us all the way until we entered the door," The Emperor suddenly said.

Mayer was terrified. He and Li were both Rank A, yet he hadn't been able to discover his tracks.

That man actually followed The Emperor?

"Mm."

A Silver Armored Knight also verified The Emperor's words.

"Heh." The Emperor suddenly gave a cold laugh.

"Summon him in. I want to have a chat with him."

He said to Mayer, "I will personally decide the reward for this person."

"Ah! Yes!"

It seemed The Emperor not only didn't blame Li but also thought quite highly of him?

He hoped Kong Jiamu really could recover his senses. If he woke up, Li's future would be even less of a worry.

Thus, Li was brought before The Emperor.

No reaction.

Until he heard The Emperor say:

"What do you want? Speak up, anything is fine."

He couldn't believe it. His neck felt like it was rusted as he lifted his head bit by bit... Anything... is fine?

The Emperor looked at him with the compassion of a deity.