MLiS – Chapter 14.1

For You, I’ll Live On

Luo Lan’s consciousness was faint. She felt half of her body was burning painfully. Qian Xu’s hand was touching her forehead, checking her temperature. She pouted and shrank into Qian Xu’s arms. She complained in a soft voice, “It hurts!”

“Shh, it’s alright. Bear it for a while, okay?  We will arrive at the hospital soon.”

It’s not Qian Xu!

Like a movie, all kinds of images flashed in her mind. Each image plunged her deeper into someplace that she believed to be hell. Her heart ached as if it was pierced by thousands of arrows.

She thought she was finally free, yet, here she was, still alive!

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly. 

She was in Zi Yan’s arms. Her broken arm had been treated and bandaged. 

Zi Yan, who had always dressed neatly like the suave man he was, was covered with blood all over his body, cutting a sorry figure. 

Two pairs of eyes met. 

Both were silent.

The silence was too much for Zi Yan. He broke it, comforting Luo Lan, “It won’t hurt anymore when we get to the hospital.”

Luo Lan stared at Zi Yan quietly. Because of the high fever, her cheeks were flushed and her lips were cracked, but her eyes were unusually clear, like two cold pools. Zi Yan’s figure was clearly reflected on them.

Unexpectedly, Zi Yan was the one who averted his gaze first. He didn’t dare to face her gaze. He bowed his head and said, “Take a rest, there is some time before we arrive.”

Luo Lan shifted her gaze away without a word. She noticed they were in a car.

The storm hasn’t completely subsided. The consul drove the car manually, speeding through the sky full of sand and wind. It went without question that doing so in the rock forest was a very dangerous and reckless thing. 

Luo Lan was apathetic, “You used me as bait. I won’t be grateful to you even if you saved me.”

Zi Yan smiled bitterly. This girl always had a pair of wise eyes. She was good at judging and reading situations, she could pretend to be oblivious even though she understood, and she hid all her shrewdness with her civility and gentleness. However, right now, she tore off her mask and didn’t bother to pretend anymore.

Zi Yan admitted honestly, “It was my plan to use you as bait to lure the Dragon Blood Corps. Chen Sha objected to it, but I strongly insisted.”

The consul’s voice was without temperature, as always,  “Zi Yan only proposed the plan. It was my decision to execute it. I ordered Chen Sha to do another mission far from here so the plan could be executed smoothly.”

“The Consul promised Chen Sha that he would keep you safe, so Chen Sha accepted the order and left Big Gemini.”

“What about Qian Xu’s safety?”

No one answered.

Pain was clear in Luo Lan’s eyes. She sadly stared at Zi Yan, “At that time, when I told you Qian Xu came to help me with my promotion task, you didn’t oppose me at all. At that time, did you already think about how to use him as a sacrifice?”

Zi Yan had prepared himself for this question from long ago. It was absolutely unavoidable and he could only answer truthfully, “At that time, I just thought he would be beneficial for the plan. I went along with it because I had no objection. I never thought of sacrificing him! Qian Xu was one of the best soldiers of the Odin Federation. With his ability, he could definitely protect himself well. I never expected him to suddenly mutate.”

Luo Lan detected no lies from Zi Yan’s words. She gradually went lax and quietly leaned her head on the window.  Not long after, her eyelids dropped. She lost consciousness once again.

Zi Yan knew she only fainted and nothing more. Just… he tremblingly put his fingers on her neck and checked her pulse. This was the only way he could be sure that the stubborn girl who refused to stop walking even when she was exhausted in the gravity chamber was still alive.

————·————·————

The next time Luo Lan blinked her eyes open, she was already in the hospital.

She never mentioned Qian Xu again nor did she cry. She was strangely quiet. 

She was the most cooperative patient. Whatever she was told, she would do. She was told to eat, then she would eat; She was told to rest, then she would rest; She was told to let herself get examined, then she would let them examine her. Though, she was as quiet as a doll. She never spoke nor cared about her body.

Limb-regeneration surgery was not difficult. But, all in all, it was still major surgery. Even soldiers who had participated in the war and encountered a similar situation like her would be concerned and ask things related to the surgery. Unlike Luo Lan, who stayed silent. As if it wouldn’t matter whether her arm could be recovered or not.

Chu Mo was doing an examination on Luo Lan in the hospital ward when a man broke in without warning. Luo Lan still sat quietly without any reaction, but Chu Mo’s face was painted with displeasure. He turned and saw it was Chen Sha. He instantly calmed down.

Chen Sha was dressed in his military uniform. There was dust everywhere on him. It could be seen that he was rushing to come here. He strode to Luo Lan and inspected her carefully. He stared at Luo Lan’s broken arm, the wound was jagged and hideous. 

Chu Mo didn’t stop him. He knew that Chen Sha was used to seeing all kinds of wounds on the battlefield. He lightly explained, “Zi Yan said it was bitten off by a mutated beast. Don’t worry, there is no toxin that hurts her nerve and her arm can be recovered as before…”

Chu Mo hadn’t finished his explanation, Chen Sha spun around and punched hard at Zi Yan who had just walked in. 

This was not their first time doing a surprise attack on the others, but this was the first time Zi Yan didn’t attempt to avoid it at all. His fist connected with Zi Yan’s face hard and Zi Yan was knocked back. The whole person knelt on the ground with blood in his mouth and nose.

Chen Sha refused to give him mercy. He kicked him over. Zi Yan still didn’t avoid it. He made it clear that he would accept any beating from Chen Sha. 

Chu Mo side-eyed Luo Lan, who had been sitting quietly. He guessed that there was something he didn’t know behind this. He simply ignored the two and continued to examine Luo Lan.

After the examination was done, he removed his gloves and asked, “Is tomorrow okay for the surgery?”

Luo Lan nodded.

Chu Mo stared at Luo Lan for a moment, then slowly said, “I’m confident tomorrow surgery will be successful, but… As a doctor yourself, you should know the success of the surgery is only the beginning of the treatment, it’s not the end. To make it completely successful and you can properly use your arms again, you must work hard for it.”

Luo Lan didn’t reply.

Chen Sha’s movement of beating Zi Yan stopped. 

Chu Mo glanced at Zi Yan, who was sitting on the ground with a bruised nose and swollen face, and sighed helplessly. He hauled him up and guided him to the treatment room. 

Chen Sha stood by Luo Lan’s bed.

Luo Lan propped herself with one hand. She lay down slowly, clumsily covering her head and face with the sheet. 

Her message was clear. 

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear anything.”

————·————·————

The surgery, as guaranteed by Chu Mo, was very successful.

Luo Lan’s arm has completely returned to its original state. There was no way for someone to think she had her arm bitten off just before the surgery. Still, she must properly exercise her regenerated arm in order for it to truly integrate with the body.

This kind of rehabilitation exercise was not easy, but for someone who has level A physical ability, this kind of rehabilitation wouldn’t be difficult. When all is said and done, who has never suffered to reach level A physical ability? Compared to the suffering they experienced when advancing to level A, this was nothing.

The problem was, Luo Lan was uncooperative about it. She often sat for a whole day without saying a word, she didn’t do any exercises instructed for her. 

Chu Mo had admonished her, “If you go on like this, your arm will be useless in the future!”

Nothing entered Luo Lan’s ears. She didn’t listen to Chu Mo nor did she care about it.

Chu Mo wasn’t one to be nosy, but Luo Lan and he shared some friendship between colleagues and he couldn’t just ignore her. In a rare moment, Chu Mo, who always treasured his words, rambled. “Feng Lin said that you might get your gene-repairer license this year. If you can’t use your hands, let alone doing the surgery for gene repair, it will be difficult to do your normal research work.”

As before, Luo Lan was indifferent. 

Chu Mo walked out of the ward. Chen Sha and Zi Yan were waiting outside. 

“I have done everything I can, the rest depends on her. I have other patients in Alikarta and I need to go back.”

Chen Sha replied, “It’s me who bothered you this time, I’ll take you back.”

Chu Mo sighed, like an elder brother complaining his dissatisfaction but still indulgent, “You have been bothering me since you were a child. What’s one more? I’m used to it.”

While talking, they walked out of the hospital.

————·————·————

Chu Mo and Chen Sha left, but Zi Yan didn’t. He entered Luo Lan’s ward and stared at the quiet and lifeless Luo Lan.

Luo Lan acted as if Zi Yan was air and didn’t react to him.

“Luo Lan, Qian Xu’s death was an accident…”

“Get out!”

Luo Lan didn’t want to listen to him, but Zi Yan was persistent. He sat next to her bed and seriously explained, “The Consul did use you, but he never wanted something to happen to you. Granted that you don’t believe me, think about it this way, you should know that you are goods brought to Odin in exchange for a planet. The Consul is a smart and shrewd person. A person like him, how could he do a losing business that would hurt Odin’s interest?”

Luo Lan lay down and covered her head with the sheet like what she had done to Chen Sha before, indicating she didn’t want to hear him. 

“Luo Lan, you can dismiss me, you can also dismiss Chen Sha… but, don’t be disrespectful when you are facing the Consul!” There was lingering terror in Zi Yan’s heart from the moment Luo Lan pointed a gun at the consul. He was worried that she would hate the consul because of Qian Xu’s matter. Her hate could birth an obsession and her obsession could lead her to do irrational things.

“Consul is a slave bought by Professor An from other planets. He couldn’t even recognize words when he first arrived at Odin. He has no background, but he could climb the ranks just by relying on his military skills. He became the well-known General and later became the youngest Consul in the Odin Federation’s history. It’s not exaggerating to say that no one can fight better than him. It is fortunate that the Consul always opposed war and has been working hard to mend the relationship between heterogeneous and other humans.”

Zi Yan was very earnest, “You are the Princess of Aerdes. How many wars have the two countries fought? How many casualties have the wars created?  In Odin Federation, you are the “different species” that the people hate! But don’t you realize? From the moment you stepped your foot in Odin, even if there has been a lot of discomforts, no one has ever dared to really hurt you. Feng Lin has taken care of you and been very considerate from the beginning. Chen Sha is obviously unwilling to marry you but still did it in the end. Do you think all of those things fall from the sky just like that?”

“Don’t you remember? When you applied to participate in the genetic research in the Research Institute, three Dukes disagreed. But, during the years you have worked in the Research Institute, have you encountered any troubles? Do you really believe that the Dukes of Odin Federation are only good at talking and don’t have any underhanded methods? Your physical training, your study in the medical school, including your status as ‘Luo Xun’, if it weren’t for the Consul’s approval, even if Feng Lin was willing to support you and keep it secret, Zong Li and Bai Licang wouldn’t let you off”

“Luo Lan, I hope you understand that in Odin Federation, the Consul’s will can both protect and destroy you! Don’t be disrespectful to him! This is not only about you, but also between two star countries. More than that, it is between the whole heterogeneous and humans!”

Zi Yan spoke a lot of words, earnestly and seriously, but Luo Lan still treated him as air. She didn’t respond to him, as if she hadn’t heard anything. If it weren’t for his enchanted hearing and he could hear Luo Lan’s breathing under the cover, he would have thought it was a corpse that lay on the bed in front of him. 

Knowing she was like this because of a Heterogeneous, Zi Yan had mixed feelings in his heart. “Luo Lan, if you want to hate, then hate me. It was my plan. It was a trap designed by me!”

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Amoeba’s Corner

 (´・ω・｀)

————·————·————

Zi Yan: “Don’t be disrespectful when you are facing the Consul!”

Luo Lan: …

Also Luo Lan:

Sneak-a-Peek

“You really make me sick, so repulsive! Your body is not the only thing that is rotten! Your heart is also rotten and smells as bad as your body!” Luo Lan berated him and spun around, decisively leaving the place.

Obligatory Closing
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This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 2337

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