MLiS – Chapter 7.3

Unexpected Assassination

Luo Lan led the two men into a room that looked like an examination room. It was very empty, with only beds, tables, and chairs, as well as various examination instruments and medical supplies.

The bald man pinched Luo Lan’s neck and almost lifted her up from the ground. “You’d better not play any tricks! Where is this?”

Luo Lan felt that she was about to suffocate and struggled to say, “Genetic research… uses people’s bodies for research. Don’t you want genetic research?”

The bald man seemed to be persuaded and ruthlessly let go of Luo Lan, “Send the data to my terminal.”

Luo Lan inputted the instruction and started the zhi nao, “The document’s copy transfer requires the identity authentication of at least two staff that participated in the research.”

The barrel of the gun pointed to her once again. Luo Lan quickly said, “I can steal the identity of my colleagues, but it will take a while, around three or five minutes.”

The bald man waved his gun and motioned her to continue.

Luo Lan’s fingers danced quickly on the keyboard.

The two men stared contemptuously at her for a while. They looked at each other and didn’t notice anything strange. They nodded at each other. The bald man was still staring at Luo Lan while the other man walked around the room, looking around.

Luo Lan said, “Sir, those are precision instruments^[1] used for the research. Please keep your distance.”

The man snorted disdainfully. He not only came closer, but also fired a shot at the instrument.

Luo Lan was so angry that she couldn’t even let out a sound escape her mouth. Tears swirled in her eyes.

The bald man who had been staring at Luo Lan bared his teeth and smirked. He turned his head to look at his companion. Just as he was about to turn around, in a flash Luo Lan rushed to the door with all her strength.

A warning bell sounded loudly and a glass cover suddenly fell, separating Luo Lan and the two men in the room. The armed man was inside and didn’t have time to escape but the bald man reacted quickly, he jumped, rolled on the spot and escaped at the last moment before the glass cover fell.

He didn’t bother to rescue his comrade and immediately rushed out to chase Luo Lan.

Luo Lan heard the sound of bullets hitting the ground behind her and knew that her strategy hadn’t worked as intended. Now she had angered them, she could only forebode disasters that awaited her.

While using her familiarity with the terrain, she ran quickly. She thought bitterly that even if she died, she would drag the other person down with her.

Just as the bald man was about to catch hold of her, Luo Lan rushed into a room and locked the door at once.

The bald man kicked the door several times and found that it wouldn’t open. His expression turned ferocious, he bared his teeth and showed a venomous smile at Luo Lan through the glass door.

Luo Lan impolitely raised her middle finger to him, “Dead pervert!”

His expression changed to hideous and he stepped back. He held the gun and fired it with frenzy to the glass door.

The glass cover that fell down before was built in caution for sudden mutation, the material was special and wouldn’t break easily. But the glass cover for this room was just a common protective glass, it wouldn’t last long under a rain of bullets.

Luo Lan didn’t waste a single moment. She opened the low-temperature storage cabinet, her sight skimmed over the medicine bottles, quickly selected several bottles and cans, then mixed them together according to a certain proportion in her mind.

Separately, these chemical reagents weren’t dangerous at all, but if they were mixed together and had a collision with solid objects, they would trigger a chain reaction. Not only would they explode, but also release a highly toxic fog that would harm the human respiratory system. A person with level 3A physical ability may have an opportunity to escape, but those below level A would certainly die.

In the end, the glass door couldn’t hold on any longer and was shattered by the gun. The bald man stepped on it and walked to Luo Lan step by step with a click-clacking sound of his shoes.

His ferocious expression was back and asked darkly, “How do you want to die?”

Luo Lan stood calmly with a reagent bottle in her hand.

The memory of the past ten years passed by her mind at full speed and ultimately froze on Qian Xu’s figure.

Although there were many things and unanswered questions left in her mind. She has done everything she can do to the utmost of her ability. There was nothing to regret. Perhaps, if there was any regret, it must be that she hasn’t become an excellent gene-repairer that could help Qian Xu cure his disease. She didn’t even have a chance to leave a farewell…

Luo Lan raised her hand, ready to smash the reagent bottle to the ground, but before she could do it the bald man abruptly fell straight down.

Qian Xu stood in front of her, his hand holding a gun and his eyes swept through the room with full alertness. When he judged that there were no more dangerous people, he put the gun away, “Are there any other people left beside him?”

Luo Lan was still in a trance, not knowing whether this was an illusion or a dream. She shook her head blankly and stared at Qian Xu without blinking.

Qian Xu slowly reached out his hand to Luo Lan, as if afraid of scaring her, and said with a very gentle voice, “Luo Xun, it’s okay. You are already safe. Pass me the bottle in your hand.”

Only then did Luo Lan realize that everything was true and not an illusion or dream, but instead of handing the reagent bottle to Qian Xu, she held it tighter in her hand, “You hurry out first! This reagent bottle is very dangerous. I have to dispose of it first!”

Qian Xu didn’t move and said, “I’ll be with you.”

Luo Lan’s heart jumped, she stared at Qian Xu and repeated, “This reagent bottle is very very dangerous. If it isn’t handled carefully, it will explode.”

“I am aware of it, therefore it’s better for me to stay with you.” Qian Xu smile was full of calmness.

The so-called “together in life and death”? Luo Lan didn’t know what to feel about the sudden palpitation in her heart. She composed herself, walked to the test bench, and carefully disposed the reagent.

After she was certain that the danger was completely gone, her knee lost her strength and in a short while, she fell to the ground.

Qian Xu looked at her head and saw that she was covered in blood from her head to her neck and half of her face was swollen. He leaned over to examine her head and checked where the injury was.

“Where does it hurt?”

Inexplicably, Luo Lan’s tears fell down as soon as Qian Xu’s hand touched her.

Just a while ago, she was in danger and met with many mishaps. She also faced two ferocious terrorists, but she didn’t cry. Now, at this moment, someone was beside her. Examining her carefully and asking her questions with a gentle tone. She couldn’t help but feel wronged and showed her fear.

Qian Xu kneeled down and patted her back, “It’s alright, it’s already alright.”

Luo Lan whimpered, “They hit me on the head and on the face. I must be disfigured.”

Qian Xu lied brazenly without batting an eyelid, “No disfigurement, still look as good as before.”

“You’re lying! Obviously, it’s swollen. I can feel it myself!”

Qian Xu feigned a look, checking her up and down, “It still looks good even if it’s swollen.”

Luo Lan burst into laughter through tears, “I didn’t expect you to lie so blatantly.”

Qian Xu examined Luo Lan’s head once again. Determining that the wound was not serious, he let his hand down.

“I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Luo Lan wanted to stand up, but her ankle was filled with soreness. She sat back on the ground in a cold sweat.

Qian Xu was at her side in a flash, he held her foot and checked it. “It must have been sprained when you ran away just now, you shouldn’t use your feet for the time being.”

“There are wheelchairs on the third floor.” However, Luo Lan was afraid of being alone right now.

Qian Xu saw through her fear, “My car is parked outside the building. I’ll carry you, okay?”

Luo Lan nodded at once.

Qian Xu picked her up in a princess carry and strode towards the elevator.

Luo Lan had a splitting headache. Leaning on Qian Xu’s shoulder, she felt like she had been hit with a dizzy spell and closed her eyes. “Didn’t you say that you have been very busy at work recently? How could you come to the Research Institute, especially at night?”

“The base’s lightning system was invaded and suffered some damage, causing outages in some places. I’m worried that you are still working overtime in the Research Institute. So I called your personal terminal, but it didn’t get through. That’s why I came over to take a look.”

Luo Lan opened her eyes abruptly, stared at Qian Xu in amazement.

In the past ten years, as someone who lacked experience, she often had to work overtime in order not to hold back her colleagues. She didn’t expect that one day she would be saved because of this habit. She didn’t expect that someone would come to the Research Institute to find her out of worry because of her habit.

Luo Lan felt her heart swell, “Qian Xu…”

“Yes?” Qian Xu waited for her to speak, but nothing came. He lowered his head and looked at her suspiciously.

Luo Lan smiled brightly, “It’s nothing.”

She closed her eyes with a smile. Somehow she felt her headache had become a bit lighter.

————·————·————

Qian Xu’s footstep halted.

Luo Lan thought they had already arrived at his car. She opened her eyes in a daze, but what she saw was Chen Sha and Feng Lin, standing in front of them. She was shocked and became sober in an instant, subconsciously struggling against Qian Xu.

“Be still, your feet were hurt, you shouldn’t overstrain it.” Qian Xu gave Luo Lan a soothing smile and gently coaxed her. Obediently, Luo Lan stopped her movement.

“Commander.” Qian Xu stood upright with his feet together and saluted Chen Sha.

Chen Sha ignored him and went straight to Luo Lan, asking seriously, “Where did you get hurt?”

Luo Lan felt like she could cry at any moment now. In a hurry, she blinked and sent a pleading look to Chen Sha, “Report to Commander! I’m Luo Xun, a Researcher at the Research Institute. I was kidnapped by two terrorists. This is Qian Xu, he is the one who saved me. A preliminary examination showed that there were injuries to my head and legs. Thank the commander for his concern!”

She said a lot of “Commander” in one breath, hoping that her hint was clear enough for Chen Sha to understand her meaning.

Chen Sha’s gaze stopped on her for a moment, then he looked at Qian Xu.

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Footnotes

1. 精密的研究仪器 – jīng mì de yán jiū yí qì. Instruments/tools used to measure something precise like measurement accuracy, positioning accuracy, movement accuracy, etc.Things like Vernier Calipers, Micrometer Calipers and other Mechanical Gauges. Expensive af.↵

Amoeba’s Corner
Today’s Amoeba’s corner will be a long one. So:
Click ↵ to go to find the difference between the published and online novel version.

Happy Sunday! Here is Chapter 7.3 as promised!

One of my favorite chapters, some foreshadowing here (づ›ω‹ )づ❤ Qian Xu really mean it when he said together in life and death.
Luo Lan gets caught by her lawful husband lol. What are you doing staring so intently at Qian Xu ah… Did he get Luo Lan’s hint? What do you think? What will Chen Sha do? Confront Qian Xu?

I said in my TL’s note on Chapter 6.1 that I will translate a book section for each update, right..? Uh, so hear me out. I cross-checked my book with some RAWs on the internet and find out there are some differences (some sources are the same as the published book, some are different). If any of you have the published book, please let me know if your version is the same as mine?

《散落星河的记忆1：迷失》作者：桐华
出版社: 湖南文艺出版社
出版年: 2017-3
开本: 16开
装帧: 平装
ISBN: 9787540480004

I will continue to use the published book version because as far as I know there isn’t any reprinted version for this book (right?). I don’t know why there are differences between the published book and the online novel version, but don’t worry! I’ll include the different parts in Amoeba’s Corner if there are any, feel free to decide which one suits you better!

On this part:
Luo Lan felt her heart swell, “Qian Xu…”
“Yes?” Qian Xu waited for her to speak, but nothing came. He lowered his head and looked at her suspiciously.
Luo Lan smiled brightly, “It’s nothing.”
She closed her eyes with a smile still on her face. Somehow she felt her headache had become a bit lighter.

The online novel version is:
Luo Lan felt her heart swell, “Qian Xu…”
“Yes?” Qian Xu waited for her to speak, but nothing came. He lowered his head and looked at her suspiciously.
Luo Lan smiled brightly, “I didn’t work overtime. I was kidnapped, but fortunately, you came. ”
Qian Xu smiled and said nothing.
She closed her eyes with a smile still on her face. Somehow she felt her headache had become a bit lighter.

I think I prefer the published book version because according to my understanding of Luo Lan and reading later chapters, she must have already let go of this incident, so she said nothing. She isn’t one to complain about her grievances. That’s why she still feels lighter in Qian Xu’s arms even without telling him anything. Because Qian Xu came for her. It’s enough. She doesn’t need anything else nor does she needs to speak it out. It flows more smoothly than the online novel version, I guess? Qian Xu smiled and said nothing? No way, Luo Lan’s comfort is this old fox priority.

See you next update!

This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1941