CH 32

Remnant Human (3)

The light of the mecha searchlight dimly illuminated Jiang Jianming’s half blood-stained body.

Tang Zhen’s expression went blank for a second and the next moment he rushed over like crazy, with red eyes.

“…Little Jiang, Jiang Jianming!! Jiang Jianming!!”

It was pitch black, and he couldn’t even see his fingers. On the way, he almost tripped over a stumped leg of the spider corpse, he rolled and crawled and threw himself in front of Jiang Jianming.

The young man in front of him didn’t respond at all. His head was lowered deeply, black hair covered his face, and most of his body was coated in blood. Tang Zhen touched him with his hand, and his five fingers only felt cold.

The blood was cold and showed signs of congealing.

Tang Zhen took a sharp breath, he held Jiang Jianming by the back of his head and hugged him. The mecha searchlight in the distance illuminated his pale cheek and the glaring blood on the corners of his lips.

Tang Zhen began to tremble violently, his teeth grinded and rattled, and he said in a trembling voice, “Little…Little Jiang…wake up, wake up…”

A few seconds later, Jiang Jianming’s drooping eyelashes moved, and he turned his head unconsciously.

“Hmm…”

Tang Zhen quickly supported him, too frightened to breathe. Li Youfang also rushed over, trembling in fear, “Jiang Jianming! How are you, can you see us, can you talk!?”

“……”

Jiang Jianming opened his eyes tiredly, his slackened eyes were darker than the night.

The light in his eyes slowly focused and fell on Tang Zhen’s face.

Afterwards, he turned his face to the other side and sighed with extreme disgust, “…Why is it you.”

Tang Zhen’s nervous gaze gradually became blank.

“?”

What’s with that tone of yours?

Jiang Jianming pushed away his hand, slowly sat up straight, yet suddenly exhaled a light hiss.

Tang Zhen was startled again, thinking that his wound hurt somewhere. As soon as his heart reached his throat, he merely saw the other person kneaded his eyebrows and said as if having a headache,

“Ah…..right, I seem to have told you that I will go over and meet you as soon as possible.”

“I’m really sorry,” Jiang Jianming showed an apologetic expression, “There was an accident, I forgot.”

Tang Zhen:”…….”

You forgot??

Tang Zhen turned dumbfounded once again. 

I was here thinking as I saw you lying next to the spider corpse covered in blood, and now you’re telling me that you forgot about the rendezvous??

Is this something that can be forgotten???

Jiang Jianming waved his hand again. “I didn’t suffer any injuries, the blood on my body is basically from the alien creature.”

Tang Zhen pointed behind him blankly and said, “So, you’re the one who blew it up.”

Jiang Jianming nodded. “It’s a bit ugly, I’ll improve next time.”

“………”

Li Youfang next to him opened his mouth, and his whole body became numb.

Heavens, while they were anxiously imagining whether this fragile human being was seriously injured or became unconscious after falling off the cliff, whether he was taken away by the alien creatures and eaten as a snack……..

This guy actually blew up the alien creature by himself, laid down and slept on the corpse after blowing it up, and completely forgot about them??

How could there be such a ridiculous guy in the world!?

This makes no sense at all!!

“Jiang, Jian, Ming……”

As Tang Zhen stared at his friend, his shoulders trembled with anger, and he smiled amidst his fury. “Okay, you are amazing, you are immortal, you are really capable, aren’t you!?”

“You fucker………damn it.”

But before he could finish his cursing, he choked up and buried his head, and tears fell down.

The huge pressure, fear, the dreadful result and self-blame in just a few hours turned into huge waves and crushed his emotions in an instant.

“Oh you, don’t cry in anger. I even said I am sorry.”

Jiang Jianming rubbed Tang Zhen’s head helplessly, and chuckled faintly, “You really are a young master. Do you think that ‘not afraid of death’ is enough when going to the battlefield? There is still a long way to go……..” 

“……”

Tang Zhen raised his cuff and wiped his face vigorously, gritted his teeth and said in a muffled voice, “…..Scram, you’ll be the death of me.”

But the feeling in his heart was unspeakable. It turned out that Jiang Jianming knew, he had seen through everything early in the morning.

Afterwards, Jiang Jianming turned his head and looked at Li Youfang.

He then asked sincerely, “Speaking of which, you………why are you here again?”

Li Youfang’s neck turned red immediately, he couldn’t bear to say that he was worried about him too, thus he simply prepared to muddle through.

However, Tang Zhen looked up blankly next to him, and said in a nasally voice, “Oh, just now he was crying and said he wanted to pay back your money.”

Li Youfang:”……..”

—It is really revealing the inner thought which is no more than attacking physically, and nothing more!!

****

At dawn that day, all the members of the third team in the adaptation period safely withdrew to the first fortress of the Silver Big Dipper.

Bei Maner was immediately sent to the treatment area, and was notified that her life was not in danger, making everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

The rest of the members were also instructed to “stay in the treatment area for observation”, thus the five people that had been exhausted for a long time, got into the treatment cabin one after another and fell asleep, and slept through the dark of the night.

And on that short day, the inside of the Silver Big Dipper was very chaotic.

Several B-level alien creatures appeared in the low-risk area, even including a subspecies. It also happened to coincide with the training period of the officers in the adaptation period, which directly led to a rare and tragic incident.

The military meeting was held from morning to night, and the usually high-ranking officials wished they could just turn bald. At first, it was expressing their own opinions, yet later it became sticking to his own view and the situation reached a deadlock.

“What else is there to say?”

In the military aircraft conference room, a black and thin officer jumped up, “It must be that the activities in the Crystal Nest have intensified, thus making the alien creatures become hyperactive. It has already been three years since the Silver Big Dipper marched to the Crystal Nest. Surely we could just not leave a potential threat alone?”

As soon as the words fell, another fair and robust officer retorted, “Nonsense! Is there any evidence that the activities of the alien creatures are related to the Crystal Nest? There has never been any! Don’t be paranoid, you group of ‘marching faction’, was the lesson of the sacrifice of the Crown Prince three years ago not enough?”

Speaking of this, the fair and robust officer frowned, and said sadly, “This timing is too coincidental, it is most likely a trick of the ‘Lava’ space bandits, they had also attacked the Second fortress last month…….”

“Ah! That’s why we have always advocated that the Silver Big Dipper should stop its useless exploration of the distant stars, and work with the Golden Sun Wheel to focus on fighting against space pirates, instead of confronting enemies that only exist in delusions!”

“Bah! Those guys from Golden Sun Wheel are being raised by the Empire at a high price, and do not do any work. At present, the Second fortress has taken on most of the pressure in resisting the space bandits, and now you want us to help!?”

“Is Golden Sun Wheel only freeloading? Then the Silver Big Dipper, who entered the Crystal Nest, burned its own granary, wasted its resources for nothing!”

“You—” 

“Why should I—”

“So—”

As everyone argued together at the same time, one could actually notice the smell of gunpowder in the conference room getting stronger and stronger.

Several military officers were in a state of mutual hostility, blowing their beards and focusing on the other party, wishing to just release their crystal bones on the spot to fight. 

Those who tried to persuade the fight were sweating profusely, desperately trying to smoothen things over. “Ah! you two officers! Please stop arguing. The situation is still unknown now. The most important thing is to ensure the safety of our own people.”

“That’s right, Major General, please give the order to temporarily seal the fortress! Before the truth is found out, it may not be suitable to go out and explore rashly in the Alpha Alien Star……”

Finally, the Major General who had been sitting on the upper seat propping his forehead raised his head and patted the table hard.

“—Silence, silence!!”

The general raised his face, revealing a pair of compelling phoenix eyes.

Those eyes scanned around vigorously, making dozens of officers bow their heads one by one.

“Stop bickering, you bunch of people who only knew to eat and drink and do nothing.”

Xie Yuduo opened his mouth and sneered bitterly, “Right, you little babies, have you vomited out bile from being scared these days?”

The female adjutant standing behind him showed a helpless expression.

Soon, this helpless expression spread to the faces of every officer in the meeting room.

Not good, Major General Xie started swearing again……

——Xie Yuduo, Major General Xie, the general who was in charge of the First fortress was very young, and looked to be only in his thirties, having shoulder-length black hair that was tied into a small braid behind his head.

There was a coquettish air in his eyebrows and eyes that didn’t quite match the word “battlefield”, and his tone of voice was also very elegant, but it was a kind of poisoned ironic elegance—or elegant irony.

In short, this person seemed more suitable to be an aristocrat who smiles and plays with beauties at a banquet, rather than a Silver Big Dipper Major General who fought bloody battles.

The adjutant lowered her head and whispered helplessly to dissuade him. “Major General Xie, this is a public meeting after all, please restrain yourself a little bit.”

The Major General only snorted, crossing his left leg on top of his right leg, his black boots showing on the corner of the table. “The First fortress has closed its doors and held its own meeting, so there is nothing to be restrained. Not to mention, they simply quarreled so much that they blushed and the veins in their necks bulged. Is it decent?”

–On the seats, several high and low-ranking senior officers acted like quails, looked at each other in embarrassment, and did not say a word.

“I still have to talk about it, as you guys are arguing here, can your noises bring forth results? I don’t know, maybe you should just go and find out.”

Xie Yuduo leaned forward, with an extremely exaggerated mocking expression on his handsome face, gritted his teeth and sneered, “Go, check, ah?”

He patted the table impatiently, “Contact the Second Fortress to inquire about the movements of the space pirates, contact the Black Shark Base to inquire about the activity frequency of the Crystal Nest, and analyze enough evidence before displaying it in a conference meeting—do you still need me to teach you?”

The conference room was silent. The Major General swapped his legs, now his right leg was on top of his left leg, and then he scoffed. “As for banning the fortress? Don’t make trouble, children, do you think the Silver Big Dipper is a baby’s playhouse, you cry when you are in danger and you hide back into your mother’s arms to be breastfeed?”

“When will we be able to ensure ‘finding out the truth’ in the Far Star? The far interstellar world has always been unknown, and we are people who advance step by step into this unknown.”

Xie Yuduo smiled coldly, and poked hard at the snow-silver military badge on his chest, “Even if there is a dead sea in front of us, we have to fill it with our lives. This is what it means to be a Silver Big Dipper, don’t you know?”

As soon as these words came out, the faces of several officers immediately became solemn.

“The children in the adaptation period will stay in the fortress to continue their training  this month, everyone else will still do the usual, do whatever you want to do.” Major General Xie waved his hand, “Okay, let’s call it a day.”

As soon as the Major General said this, the dozens of military officers immediately stood up, saluted, and rushed out.

The person leading the group had just touched the edge of the fingerprint door lock when Xie Yuduo suddenly called out, “Wait a minute.”

The officers hurriedly turned back, only to see Xie Yuduo tapped his temple and called for a certain individual, “Ah, Lieutenant Colonel Huo Lin.”

“The subordinate is here!” 

A middle-aged officer came out immediately. He had a gloomy face, a pair of triangular eyes, and a hooked nose. Surprisingly, he was the captain of those young officers in adaptation period, the Commanding officer Huo Lin. “

Xie Yuduo waved his hand. “You said…… that one of your team encountered a subspecies, but all the members survived and successfully killed the alien–” 

He paused, then changed into a serious tone, “It should have been not easy, no, it’s far from easy. Ask the department in charge to count everyone’s achievements, and send me a copy of the document. You may go. “

Huo Lin straightened his back and saluted. “Yes.”

This time, the officers were finally able to adjourn the meeting. Again, Xie Yuduo stayed in the conference room alone, with his adjutant accompanying him.

After a long time, the Major General let out a breath, and lifted the hair on his forehead with a half-smile.

“In the final analysis, it’s still an old problem. How many years has it dragged on, quarrels still crop up again and again……”

The female adjutant said in a low voice, “Major General, this matter involves too much, and it is not something you can solve by working hard alone.”

Xie Yuduo shook his head. His gaze was directed out of the window, and from the window of this military aircraft conference room, he could see the snow-falling cloudy sky of the Alpha Alien Star. 

“Whether the spear of the Silver Big Dipper is aimed at the Crystal Nest or at the Space Pirates, whether it is to explore the unknown or to consolidate the frontier……the marching faction and the contracting faction, tsk tsk.”

Major General Xie narrowed his phoenix eyes, and he murmured softly, “Really giving me a headache…”

He heaved a great sigh and shook his head, and asked again, “Has His Highness returned safely?”

The adjutant immediately turned on her wrist device, and checked the system. “Reporting to the Major General, it is confirmed that the mecha M-Pojun that His Highness the Second Prince has driven has returned, that means he should be back.” 

Xie Yuduo nodded as an understanding, yet he clicked his tongue and frowned again.

So, the call made by His Highness suddenly last night………what’s with that dying remnant human? What exactly is the situation?

How can a disabled human appear in the Far Star?

****

At night.

First fortress, treatment area.

The treatment area of Silver Big Dipper Fortress was divided into outer and inner areas. Most of the professional doctors and nurses were in the inner area, diagnosing and treating seriously injured patients around the clock; while the outer area basically relies on the treatment cabin and medical robots to achieve fully automatic diagnosis and treatment. 

It was a quiet night, and the green fluorescent light gently illuminated the floor, dispelling the darkness. 

The treatment cabins were quietly spraying medicine mist, and the floating medical robots were slowly patrolling to ensure the safety of the patients and the wounded.

Jiang Jianming was still in a coma, his eyes were closed tightly, and the tips of his brows were furrowed faintly.

His skin was as white as a piece of mourning apparel, and there was no color on his lips, only his eyebrows and hair were dark black, and he looked a hundred times more fragile and brittle than when he was awake.

The treatment cabin in the fortress had a full body cleaning function, which had helped him wash off the blood from his body; his military uniform had also been replaced with a loose white hospital gown.

As for the wound on the forehead when the mecha fell off the cliff, it had been healed as early as when he was in Snow Dove’s built-in treatment cabin.

A slender figure stood just outside the treatment cabin he was in.

Garcia’s body was still full of undissipated blood and murderous aura, and there was even an obvious tiredness between his fierce brows and eyes.

In fact, when Xie Yuduo called for help, he had just finished fighting six A-level alien creatures, and he was already exhausted. Afterwards, he drove the mecha around the snowy mountains for a day and a night without sleep, searching and rescuing, and at the same time cleared away the potential dangers that he could see. He hadn’t closed his eyes for more than two days. No matter how powerful His Royal Highness was, he was not a person made of iron, he would be tired or he would eventually feel tired.

But after he returned to the fortress, the first thing he did was to find someone in the treatment area.

Garcia stood outside the treatment cabin, staring coldly at Jiang Jianming’s thin chest rising and falling when he breathed. After a while, he slowly put his palm on the glass cover of the treatment cabin, and there were waves in his dark green eyes.

Garcia frowned heavily, and suddenly opened his lips.

“…alive.”

He seemed to be talking to himself.

This mysterious disabled human being is not dead, but is still alive.

His Royal Highness frowned in displeasure.

But why……………… 

Does he look like he’s going to die at any moment?

He had been in the distant interstellar since he gained self-awareness, and he had never seen these legendary disabled human beings.

He only vaguely knew that disabled humans were a very weak species, not even having a half piece of crystal bone in them. If the concentration of crystal particles was high, they would get sick, get injured if touched, become unconscious when poked, and die if pinched hard.

Die…

Garcia pursed his lips, and the previous encounters with Jiang Jianming flashed through his mind, his calm and smiling eyebrows, and his gentle and clear voice.

No, Jiang Jianming at that time was not at all like the disabled human in his impression.

But now it looks a bit like it.

When this person was awake, there was a profound aura supporting his spirit, like an iron bone was supporting his body, showing no weakness at all.

But when this person was unconscious, there was nothing that could help him hide his innocence and infirmity.

At this time, it seemed that any darkness in the world could contaminate him, and any violence could invade him.

Just looking at it would make one’s heart ache.

Garcia’s hard lips tightened even more.

He bent down and reached out to adjust several data in the treatment cabin.

After finishing, the prince raised his head.

Then he looked at the sleeping person in the cabin again.

I still feel like he’s going to die anytime.

Garcia pulled his thin lips lightly, grinding his cold white teeth.

He felt a little restless.