Chapter 281：Shapeshifters

Zhao Xuan rubbed the boy's tender cheek with his stubble, and murmured, "You were in the outside world with the Queen, how could I relax? Even if my body had to be temporarily hosted by Orr's memories, I could at least wake up in time to protect you from danger." And reality proved that his decision was correct. He'd never set out to save mankind, but he couldn't tolerate his lover being in even a little bit of danger. If the salvation mission had failed, with the Queen's powerful computing power, it wouldn't have been difficult for her to find out who was opposing her. She would've sent a steady stream of robotic raiders to his sweetheart's location until she killed him. As long as he thought about that scene, even if he was in danger of permanently crashing, he had to wake up in time to block all the disasters.

He paused for a moment, then chuckled, "I knew that once I'd woken up, you would've stayed by my side, even if that person wasn't really me. Baby, you really love me, I can feel it." He covered the boy's chest with his burning palm.

"And you love me even more. Thankfully the world has you!" Zhou Yun Sheng never knew he could be so sentimental, but he couldn't control the flushing of his eyes and the acidity of his nose. He quickly buried himself in the crook of his lover's arm, his scalding hot tears staining his bronze skin. Although his lover didn't say it, he knew that if he was in danger, he would protect him at all costs. So he chose to be hosted, instead of lying dormant, even if that could lead to him completely disappearing.

Zhao Xuan pinched his jaw and raised his tear stained face, looking at him resolutely for a long while, then he finally laughed, affectionately kissing away the tear drops hanging on his cheeks and jaw.

"Baby, how can you be so cute?" He sighed contentedly.

When the couple were tired enough to go downstairs to search for food, it was already three in the morning, and the Marshal and the four Admirals had fossilized. Hearing the two pajama clad men shuffling down the stairs, they turned around, their stiff necks issuing audible creeks.

"You're still here? Do you want a midnight snack then?" Zhou Yun Sheng raised an eyebrow.

Five hours and twenty-four minutes, he really was the first evolution of the super race, his endurance was very alarming. The Marshal glanced at his watch, his expression was solemn, but his thoughts were very vulgar. He nodded, and warmly said, "We don't need a midnight snack, but a pot of coffee would be nice. You… …" There was a strange pause for a moment, then he continued, "You must be tired."

"Nope, I feel great, never so wide awake." Zhou Yun Sheng laughed cheerfully, red lips and dazzling white teeth, his fresh spring flush made the others feel dizzy.

Zhao Xuan's eyes darkened for a moment, using his tall figure to block the boy, he pinched his butt and murmured, "Just heat up a quick pot of instant coffee and make something for you to eat. Don't worry about them." Then he printed a quick kiss on the boy's tender cheek.

Zhou Yun Sheng pouted, then kissed him back and headed into the kitchen.

Zhao Xuan walked up to the sofa and sat down, then fixed his eyes on the Marshal and company.

The Marshal was even more surprised, and the medical experts gasped. On the way, they browsed through Orr Assai's information, and knew exhaustive details about his physical data, but the current Orr was completely different from his information, like two different people. He was taller, his silk pajamas sketched out the explosive power of his large muscles, and his pale brown eyes had turned a pure black, like some kind of cold, inorganic gem, reflecting a sharp light. His facial features were still as handsome as before, but his contours were more profound, making his whole temperament change from gentleness into aggressiveness. Currently, he was like an unsheathed sword, with the powerful momentum to sweep away Assai Galaxy. He was just sitting there, his eyebrows slightly raised, but a powerful pressure was gushing out, making it feel impossible to breathe.

In the process of human evolution, one's physique, hair color, eye color, and even the facial features could undergo some kind of change. This was a common pattern in the medical records, and has even become a staple of humanity's evolution. The previously skeptical about the super-race medical experts were now convinced of the warden's and the military investigators' reports, if not, they couldn't explain Orr's sudden transformation.

They wanted to take him into the laboratory and research him for a long time, in order to find a way to promote human evolution. But they knew that that was impossible, currently, the Empire was in dire need of a super soldier. Because of the war, the Empire was now sitting on the largest wealth in the Asaph Galaxy, but had lost the ability to protect it. The Federation and the other enemy forces would never let this opportunity slip by, a fierce battle was imminent. In the previous war, four of the Empire's five 3S level warriors were devoured by the Queen, leaving only one, the Old Marshal, and he was already 278 years old. But three of the Federation's five 3S level warriors survived, the oldest being only 250 years old. When weapon power and equipment were equivalent, the strength of the warriors could fundamentally determine the war's outcome.

Once the Empire and the Federation went to war, the Empire would no doubt be defeated. The civilians might not sense the approaching crisis, but those in charge have not been able to relax for even a second. When they were already planning for the worst, Orr Assai appeared, like a beam of light suddenly appearing on an endless night, making people unconsciously rush towards it.

If he really was the first evolution of the super race, there was no doubt that he would become the Empire's most powerful weapon. Forget about him being convicted of killing a small celebrity, even if he killed the king, parliament and the military board would unconditionally pardon him, and try their best to restore his reputation. As for whether or not he could be controlled, this was a question the military and parliament didn't dare think about. So what if they couldn't control him? No one could kill him. If he left the Empire because of persecution, an even faster and more complete destruction would be awaiting the Empire.

So except for appeasing and enticing him, they wouldn't use other means on him.

"Your eyes are discolored." The Marshal suppressed his frantic heartbeat and pointed to his own eyes.

"That's how they are." Zhao Xuan replied indifferently.

"Is anywhere else on your body abnormal? In order to ensure your health, we want to help you undergo a physical examination, and of course, we want to test your spiritual and physical power." The Marshal cautiously raised a requirement. He clearly felt that Orr's temperament had undergone a fundamental change, before, he was very gentle and courteous, but now, he was wild and uninhibited. But that wasn't surprising, after evolution, the subject's temperament was always more irritable than ordinary people's.

"Sure." Zhao Xuan knew what they wanted, but it coincided with his plans. Mankind, who just experienced an AI rebellion, was now conscious of the dangers of advanced technology, and his sweetheart could manipulate any kind of machine, in other words, his existence was more threatening than the Queen's. The Marshal dragged him into the army, probably with ideas about controlling him. But if his actions went beyond their tolerance limits one day, an assassination would waiting for him in the near future.

Because of this, Zhao Xuan now really needed power. Only by becoming the strongest presence in the Empire, and even the Asaph Galaxy, could he protect his loved one. He knew that his sweetheart hated being restricted, so he would do everything he could to let him keep his freedom.

The Marshal didn't think he'd agree so straightforwardly, overjoyed, he immediately stood up and said, "The Assai family's underground training ground is rumored to be very full featured, can we borrow it?"

"One sec." Zhao Xuan walked into the kitchen, catching sight of the boy preparing some fried eggs after washing out the pot of instant coffee, he walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his lean waist, nibbling on his earlobe, "Baby, I want to be the Imperial Marshal, do you want to be my first lady?"

Zhou Yun Sheng turned around and gently patted his cheek, teasing, "Sounds good, but before that, you should eat dinner. You're human now, not data." He switched off the electric stove and slid two perfect sunny side up eggs onto a plate, then pushed it towards his lover.

Zhao Xuan grinned, his eyes full of happiness. He ate half, and fed the other-half to his sweetheart, finished, he wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed him for more than ten minutes before reluctantly letting go. Then he turned around and waved at the Marshal, "Come on, let's go test."

The Marshal had thoughtfully shifted his gaze away as soon as the two people embraced. He'd thought the two's relationship was just Joe carrying a one-sided torch for Orr, but now, it seemed that Orr was burning even brighter. Whenever he looked at the boy, his eyes were as deep as the ocean, the boundless love surging inside was frightening. He was now beginning to suspect Orr's motive for killing Nan Qing, was it rejected love? Did Orr really love Nan Qing?

But whether or not Orr killed him, the military board and parliament would completely erase this stain on his reputation. And if Kane Celayan was dissatisfied? Who cares!

Jeram and Lady Assai still didn't know what all this was about, they followed the crowd into the underground training ground, uneasy. They constantly felt that what happened next would change their lives forever.

Zhou Yun Sheng packed the dishes, and lazily sat on the living room sofa, continuing to use 008 to search for Nan Qing's whereabouts. Although more than half of the Star Network was destroyed, more and more people were starting to log on, he should be able to find traces of Nan Qing's activities. He quickly browsed each suspicious page, then suddenly paused on one frame. It was a man's head shot, he was smiling and looking into the camera, he was very attractive, especially his peach blossom eyes. They were watery and misty, very charming, capable of captivating anyone.

Zhou Yun Sheng stared at the photo for a while, but his expression wasn't stunned, he was scowling. He analyzed the photo, and the result was that this was a composite photo, it was a mix of all of Nan Qing's and his face's outstanding features, becoming a more perfect and delicate face. If Nan Qing was playing dead, he certainly couldn't keep his 100% identifiable face, so plastic surgery was necessary. But he was vain, obsessed with appearances, he'd never make himself ugly.

Zhou Yun Sheng had reason to believe that this was a private mark-up of the plastic surgery's results, so he'd contact the hospital and send this to the cosmetic surgeon. Following this trail of clues, he wouldn't even need a few days to catch him.