SZAR Chapter 106

When Qu Xia came out of the bathroom, Erwen was still using his light-brain.

The Admiral was clearly forcing himself. He had lost too much blood; his lips were pale, and he wobbled on his seat. Qu Xia stepped beside him and asked, “Not going to sleep? You really need rest.”

This was just a temporary shelter. There were no medical instruments, no medicine. Erwen’s injuries were severe, but he couldn’t get proper treatment. He could only rely on a female zerg’s self-healing to endure it.

Qu Xia touched Erwen’s forehead. “You have a fever.”

The skin under his fingers was hot. For a human, this would be the kind of temperature that calls for an ambulance.

Erwen shook his head, using two fingers to zoom on the screen and show Qu Xia. “This is the situation from the satellite.”

He had connected Qu Xia’s light-brain to the lab’s analysis instruments. The D767 lab was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, and using it, Erwen had hacked into Pamir’s civilian satellites. From midair, he surveyed the military camp below. Ships were so dense they looked like sesame seeds, evenly scattered across the sky.

Qu Xia asked, “Are these enemies?”

He thought he saw aircraft from another faction.

Erwen said, “It’s an inside-and-outside coordination.”

He pressed his hand to his throbbing forehead and closed his eyes heavily. His mental sea was only suppressed by pheromones, it wasn’t fully healed. His voice was weary. “There are traitors in the military, and they hold high positions.”

The situation on the ground appeared on the screen. Civilian satellites weren’t highly precise, only giving faint outlines of human figures. Qu Xia leaned closer. “It looks like they’ve split into three sides?”

Some of the enemy ships were together, some were our forces, but a large group was scattered, forming a huge arc.

Erwen dragged the edge of that arc, it almost enclosed half of Pamir, including this abandoned little mining area.

He exchanged information with Qu Xia. This was clearly a premeditated coup. Someone had tampered with the admiral’s aircraft, poisoned the food, and infiltrated the military’s upper ranks. Except for a few loyalists, even the admiral’s adjutant had betrayed.

Tonight, they had allied with the enemy. Using the guise of war, they planned to eliminate rivals.

Qu Xia didn’t fully understand all the twists, and simply asked, “What should we do?”

Erwen gave a bitter smile.

The military’s communications had been cut off, and the area was enclosed in two concentric rings of patrols. Back in the forest, if Qu Xia’s aircraft had moved forward just one more kilometer, or paused even half a minute longer, the two scouts would have spotted them. Under such circumstances, Erwen couldn’t even send a single word inside.

The D767 lab had connection equipment. Erwen had originally planned to check the satellite feed, survey the situation, and then make a decision, but now he realized with dismay that there was almost no room for rescue.

The enemy had clearly gone all out to kill him. With such a massive formation and nearly half of the forces already turned traitorous, it was hard for Erwen to imagine just how many people they had bribed.

The military was far from a solid, ironclad unit. In fact, Erwen’s family had always been staunch supporters of the previous emperor. The current emperor had other trusted allies; later, the prince took control of the court, and the Aettris family clashed with him. If Erwen hadn’t gained fame early and achieved outstanding merits, someone else would have replaced him long ago. Now, though he still held the position of Admiral, he couldn’t stop what was happening.

For a moment, the two fell silent.

After a while, Qu Xia stood up. “Enough talk. First, get your body in shape. You can barely walk like this; you can’t do anything at all.”

Erwen shook his head slowly.

He looked at Qu Xia and said softly, “I can’t stay here. You have to get me out.”

Qu Xia froze. “Where do you want to go?”

Erwen said, “A hundred kilometers away… anywhere will do.”

Qu Xia’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy? There’s nothing but primeval forest around. If you go out there, you won’t even survive tonight!”

Qu Xia had studied mental sea for years and was at least half a doctor. Erwen’s mental sea was severely unstable; it was only barely under control, not cured. On top of that, his leg injury and blood loss made him obviously frail. Anyone could see how weak he was.

Even a random dog darting out in the primeval forest could kill this highly decorated admiral.

Erwen said, “The perimeter is tightening. The search teams are heading toward the crash site, they’re looking for me.”

The reason his adjutant had let him go out on the night of the attack was precisely calculated: by counting on the timing of his mental sea’s agitation, combined with the aircraft accident, Erwen would almost certainly die. And the aircraft had a tracking beacon, they would send people to investigate. Once they saw he wasn’t there, it would be only a matter of time before they traced it back to Qu Xia.

Erwen couldn’t risk the male.

He stared directly into Qu Xia’s eyes. “You can’t leave me here. You have to get me out.”

Qu Xia made a sound of acknowledgment, swung his legs onto the bed, and said, “Proposal rejected.”

He shoved himself into the covers with brute force, burying his head under the pillow. “Admiral, I’m not your subordinate. I’m not listening to you.”

Erwen’s breath caught. In decades of his career, no one had ever spoken to him like this. Subordinates were obedient. Males commanded with authorit, but only Qu Xia could say with complete confidence, “I’m not listening to you.” And Erwen was utterly powerless.

The admiral furrowed his brow, ready to reason, but then he stopped abruptly.

Qu Xia’s bathrobe didn’t have pants underneath.

At this point, it wasn’t just a recipient being playful with his sponsor.

The male’s straight, bare legs pressed against him, hands and feet entwined, using the admiral like a large body pillow. Erwen’s breath caught again, and inexplicably, a flash of irritation flared in him. “Qu Xia, put on some clothes!”

Qu Xia replied, “I’m not listening to you!”

He peeked his head out from under the pillow. “Sleeping like this is so comfortable. Don’t you think sleeping fully dressed feels like your soul is bound?”

A researcher’s life motto was always comfort and freedom. Qu Xia had no intention of following any weird rules.

Erwen didn’t know how a pair of pants could possibly bind a male’s soul, he only knew that if Qu Xia didn’t get dressed soon, he might lose his own mind. Suppressing his frustration, Erwen said, “Then let me go. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Qu Xia wasn’t about to let go. He had been craving Erwen’s chest and abs for a long time, and before he hadn’t dared to touch him for fear of being called a pervert. Now, with the opportunity finally here, there was no way he would pass it up.

Qu Xia said, “How can you sleep on the floor? You’re sick. That would make me look like a total scumbag.”

Erwen didn’t understand what “scumbag” meant. He took a deep breath and propped himself up on the bed. “Qu Xia, you have to get me out. Listen to me, this Prince is a madman who doesn’t care about human decency. He won’t spare you just because you’re a male. At this point, if he finds out you’ve been hiding me, he’ll kill you on the spot.”

Qu Xia, who had been playing the perfect obedient child in front of Erwen for so long, was addicted to the thrill of defying the admiral. His rebellion was a little delayed, but fierce. He covered his ears. “I’m not listening!”

Erwen: “…”

Normally weakened by blood loss, his blood pressure suddenly spiked, bringing on the urge to shake the little brat.

Qu Xia, seeing that he’d made his point, relaxed a little. He turned over and pressed Erwen closer, hair brushing against his shoulder, muttering, “It’s fine. Don’t worry. I have a way.”

Having gone through so many classified files, he knew how the zerg race carried out searches, and he was confident he could get Erwen safely out.

Erwen stayed silent.

Qu Xia was an odd male, with plenty of unconventional methods. Erwen didn’t think he was lying. If he said he had a plan, nine times out of ten, he really did, but Erwen was still worried.

Qu Xia’s future was bright. He shouldn’t be taking risks.

Erwen paused slightly. Seeing that Qu Xia was stubborn and resolutely repeating “I’m not listening, I’m not listening,” he could only sigh and let it go for now. He pushed himself upright. “Let me get down.”

By all logic and decorum, he couldn’t stay in bed with a male.

Qu Xia muttered stubbornly, “No.”

Though he’d been part of the zerg race for some time, Qu Xia had never truly integrated. He’d read that males were respected, but he didn’t see himself as one. He certainly didn’t see Erwen as the opposite sex. He just liked being close to Erwen and took every chance to… touch.

Erwen exhaled heavily.

Exhausted in body and mind, he had no energy to argue. He only said softly, “This isn’t appropriate.”

Qu Xia held him tight, refusing to let go, a hint of grievance in his voice: “But you’re shivering.”

He stubbornly squeezed himself into the covers. “This way I can feel how you’re doing. Now go to sleep.”

Erwen, weak from blood loss and running a slight fever, lay next to Qu Xia, whose fresh scent and hint of mint calmed the turbulence in his mental sea. The male’s skin was delicate, like fine silk, and being close to him triggered almost instinctive reactions in Erwen, as a female would naturally respond. He struggled in vain, unable to resist the overwhelming drowsiness, and finally sank into the soft covers.

Erwen had initially been sleeping properly, but Qu Xia edged closer little by little. In his sleep, Erwen couldn’t help but wrap Qu Xia in his arms.

It was a protective posture, as if shielding a youngling. Qu Xia’s frame was smaller, his bones slender, just the right size to be held. Erwen’s chin rested against Qu Xia’s forehead, the embrace forming a circle as though guarding a precious treasure.

Qu Xia liked this kind of physical contact.

Seeing Erwen asleep, he adjusted his position slightly to face him, staring at the curve of his body for a long moment before leaning in and taking a deep breath.

So soft! So soft!

This was exactly the feeling he liked!

When muscles relaxed, they became pliant, and the admiral was no exception. Qu Xia inhaled several times in quick succession, sighing in satisfaction.

To be honest, he had wanted to do this from the very first day he saw Erwen.

As a frail researcher, Qu Xia had been surrounded by other frail researchers in the lab. None of them had any muscle tone, nothing like this raw, athletic curve. He had longed for it, and now finally had the chance to touch it.

Soon, Qu Xia realized he might be coming off a little improper. He peeked up cautiously, making sure Erwen was too tired to notice and still asleep, and only then did he settle down, satisfied, and drift off to sleep.

In the remote wilderness of the outer star system, with the encirclement gradually closing in, Qu Xia’s mind was occupied by only one thought.

— I want to keep at it… is there a way?