SZAR Chapter 36

When Chu Ci left the banquet, he never expected that the next time he met Yi Xi, it would be in a hospital.

The elegant and refined female he had seen at the banquet now looked pale, lying in a single room bed. At the bedside was a small wooden table, holding a circular metal bearing. The bearing gleamed with oil, filling the room with the smell of machine oil.

Chu Ci asked, “What is this?”

Secretary Lin spoke first: “It’s the engine bearing from the boss’s crashed flight vehicle.”

He held the round piece in his hands and showed Chu Ci the engraved number markings. “The model of this bearing doesn’t match. Once the speed goes up, it will jam and fall off. It must have been replaced.”

Chu Ci’s eyes widened. “So this was a premeditated accident?”

He thought it over. Of course, it made sense. Everything is autopilot now. Yi Xi was too sick to operate a vehicle manually, needing support just to walk. Autopilot systems are very mature, decades without a single accident, so how could Yi Xi be this unlucky, and happen to crash into a male just then?

He found a seat by the bedside and asked, “Who was the male that got hit? What was his rank? Any idea who he is?”

Even though a male had been hospitalized, Yi Xi was still an S-rank female, and the head of Stellar. If the male’s rank wasn’t high, there might still be room for maneuver.

Hearing this, Yi Xi let out a bitter laugh.

He shook his head, unwilling to say more. His narrow eyes hid behind golden-framed glasses, making his expression hard to read. He only said, “I don’t have much time. Let’s talk about the investment first.”

Chu Ci naturally nodded. “Alright.”

Yi Xi looked at Chu Ci. “Here’s the situation, Mr. Chu. Our total investment amount won’t change, but I’ll be buying an additional share of Voyage. This will be added as an extra personal investment for you.”

Voyage was the company Chu Ci worked at. By buying shares and gifting them to Chu Ci, Yi Xi was effectively elevating him from an ordinary employee to a shareholder.

For a moment, Chu Ci didn’t realize where this unexpected windfall had come from. Secretary Lin leaned in, lowering his voice to explain: “Mr. Chu, this is to prevent that male from checking the accounts later. If he notices anything wrong and blames our boss, it would be difficult for us. Your investment is the most recent one, so there’s some flexibility. The amount is fixed, but the stock allocation can still be adjusted.”

Chu Ci, being a gamer, couldn’t make sense of the twists and turns of finance. Yi Xi looked extremely tired and didn’t elaborate further, explaining the situation in a few words. He handed Chu Ci a contract. “You don’t have to sign it right now. You can take it home and have a lawyer review it first.”

Having spent years navigating the business world, Yi Xi was always precise, polite, and careful. Even at a life-or-death moment, his contract carried no pressure or coercion. Chu Ci picked up the pen. “No need. I trust your integrity. I’ll sign it now.”

As a male, no unfair contract could ever trap him. It was better to sign immediately and give Yi Xi peace of mind.

With the contract settled, Yi Xi named a few young relatives, asking Chu Ci to keep an eye on them if any problems arose. Chu Ci nodded in agreement. After some polite exchanges, Secretary Lin piloted the flight vehicle to take Chu Ci home.

Without his boss there, Secretary Lin’s expression stretched long with visible disdain toward Chu Ci, but Chu Ci didn’t care. He asked, “You work under Nuo Wei, right? Were you on the previous expedition?”

Secretary Lin was sparing with words. “Yes.”

Chu Ci asked, “Was it dangerous?”

Secretary Lin snorted coldly. “Obviously.”

Female zergs admired strength. Only those who had survived artillery and moved freely among the collapsing dust of barren planets earned their respect. For someone like Chu Ci, who had never seen a battlefield yet had Nuo Wei’s favor, Secretary Lin secretly looked down on him.

Chu Ci unconsciously gripped the seatbelt tighter.

He was silent for a while, then asked again: “How dangerous?”

Secretary Lin let out a sharp scoff, clearly baffled by what was so appealing about a weak female like Chu Ci, favored by Yi Xi and enjoying Nuo Wei’s special attention. He gripped the controls, speaking casually, as if entertaining an over-curious teenager:

“How dangerous? On the first day of the Eighth Expedition, our field hospitals performed 8,000 wing removals, 5,000 limb reconstructions, and 600 surgeries for mental instability after severe combat stress.”

With every word, Chu Ci gripped the seatbelt tighter, until the straps were pulled taut and dry against his body. “Is the chance of these things happening high?”

“High,” Lin sneered. “Of course it’s high. Didn’t I step down because of combat-induced mental instability?”

Chu Ci fell silent.

From the rearview mirror, Secretary Lin glanced at Chu Ci. The usually irritating female was twisting the seatbelt tightly, fingers intertwined, her expression unusually somber. He paused, then said, “If you still respect the military females, for the next couple of days, please leave the male lord to Major General. Before battle, he really needs some reassurance.”

After speaking, he realized he’d probably said something useless, who a male likes isn’t something anyone can control. Even if Chu Ci was highly favored, she couldn’t dictate the male lord attention to the general.

He snorted again, hovering the flight vehicle above Chu Ci’s courtyard and opening the door. “We’re here. Get down.”

Secretary Lin was in a bad mood. The vehicle wasn’t parked neatly; the door hovered two meters above the ground, with cobblestones below.

He did it on purpose. Chu Ci, fragile and delicate-looking, might break a bone just from that drop. Secretary Lin intended to give the ‘delicate’ female a bit of trouble, waiting for her to tremble and ask him to lower the vehicle. It wasn’t exactly harassment, but it gave their Major General a little outlet for frustration.

Unexpectedly, Chu Ci glanced back and said, “Thanks,” then bent his knees and jumped straight down.

Secretary Lin was shocked, reaching out to grab Chu Ci’s collar. “Hey, you—”

He meant to give Chu Ci a bit of trouble, not actually hurt him!

Rip—

A simple high-neck sweater couldn’t withstand Chu Ci’s forward momentum against Secretary Lin’s backward pull. The collar tore clean off with a sharp sound.

Chu Ci landed with a gentle roll.

He had practiced skateboarding and parkour back in school, and though he had abandoned it later due to studies, this height was no problem.

He didn’t even notice Secretary Lin’s attempt to make things difficult. Turning slightly, he waved: “Thanks, bye.”

Secretary Lin’s eyes went wide.

Chu Ci only realized the cool breeze on the back of his neck afterward. He reached back to brush it.

The watercolor on the back of his neck had been trapped under the sweater for too long and had started to smear. Secretary Lin watched helplessly as the supposedly delicate female touched it, smudging the markings across her hand, leaving a streak of black ink.

Beneath the torn collar, a section of fair neck was exposed, the contrast making it glow like white jade.

Chu Ci: “…”

He looked at his ink-covered hand, raised his head slightly, and gave Secretary Lin an awkward smile.

Secretary Lin: “…”

Flustered, he stomped the accelerator, dragging the flight vehicle two meters along and ripping up a large patch of Chu Ci’s lawn.

Dust swirled around the courtyard.

The chaotic commotion finally drew Nuo Wei’s attention inside. Rising from the sofa to open the door, he saw the shadow of the vehicle approaching the window. Secretary Lin cursed under his breath, pressed the accelerator again, and the aircraft shot into the sky, swaying left and right as it vanished into the night.

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that the flight vehicle, careening wildly across the main planet in the dead of night, finally came to a stable stop.

Secretary Lin slumped into his chair, clutching his chest, heart hammering with tension. After a moment, his light-screen device beeped. Lin opened it and saw a message from his former superior.

Nuo Wei had sent a photo of his utterly ruined garden, the focus on the freshly torn-up trench, accompanied by just two words:

【Heh.】

……………… 

The Ninth Expedition was imminent. Nuo Wei began packing, and Chu Ci followed along to help.

“Help” was more of a formality; Chu Ci couldn’t match Nuo Wei’s efficiency. While he folded one shirt, Nuo Wei folded three. In a few quick motions, Nuo Wei had packed everything.

The possessions of a military female were pitifully few. Apart from necessary changes of clothing, other essentials were standardized. Nuo Wei brought only a small suitcase, mostly empty.

Chu Ci counted the items one by one. He picked out a shirt among Nuo Wei’s neatly folded clothes that looked different. Military shirts were stiff and structured, but this one was soft and pliable, clearly Chu Ci’s own shirt.

His fingers tapped the fabric. Nuo Wei held his breath, as if waiting for Chu Ci to say something. But Chu Ci said nothing. He zipped up the suitcase, handed it over to Nuo Wei, then stood up with his back to him.

A pang hit Chu Ci’s nose.

He had never experienced partings with life-or-death stakes, nor had he witnessed war or smoke-filled battlefields. Though news outlets had frequently reported on expeditions, and even Admiral Erwen had given public speeches many times, Chu Ci had always felt like a spectator on the shore. It wasn’t until Nuo Wei began packing that he realized how close this departure really was.

On the very first day on the battlefield, one could face 8,000 wing-removal procedures, 5,000 limb-reconstruction surgeries, and 6– cases of a drop in mental stability levels.

Chu Ci nudged the suitcase. Its case was made of reinforced PC, highly durable, able to withstand 200 degrees Celsius. He pushed the small, square box around, asking, “How long will you be gone?”

Nuo Wei said, “Short-term, two months; long-term, six months.”

…Six months.

So long.

So long, so long, so long, so long.

Chu Ci felt a bit gloomy. He and Nuo Wei had just started enjoying themselves, the sweetest part of being together. If they were human, they’d be exchanging rings, going on honeymoon trips across continents, kissing on beaches, under coconut trees, in the sea breeze of the southern hemisphere at night. But now… they were going to be apart for half a year, and Nuo Wei would be facing such danger at the same time.

Nuo Wei noticed Chu Ci’s unhappiness. He straightened the suitcase that had been rolling around, hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something to cheer him up. After some consideration, he said, “It’s okay, my Lord. The expedition is a great opportunity. I’ll work hard to earn merits. By the time I return, your wealth could double.”

Well, that one line just stepped squarely on Chu Ci’s trigger point.

Chu Ci lifted his eyes and glared at him, his back molars itching with anger: “Earn merits, huh? And how exactly do you plan to earn them?”

Leading the charge? Charging into battle? Or… risking your life?