ISMW Chapter 39

Yun Xunlan was slightly stunned.

 

…Yu Chen’s pet was like himself?

 

So he was keeping a person?

 

But could a person be a pet for another person?

 

If not a person, Yun Xunlan couldn’t think of what pet could be very much like himself.

 

“Open your mind a bit,” the system expanded Yun Xunlan’s thinking. “Look at your betta fish, its color and temperament are so much like Yu Chen. So if Yu Chen raised a noble white-furred, golden-eyed dog or cat, wouldn’t that be quite like you?”

 

“You’re right, the color is secondary, but the temperament is truly similar,” Yun Xunlan recalled how Yu Chen cursed people online. “Fish and Yu, both are fierce.”

 

So he held the blue betta fish and responded to Yu Chen: “I think my fish is also very much like you.”

 

Yun Xunlan didn’t explicitly say how it was similar, fearing that if he did, it might create a crisis in his brotherly relationship with Yu Chen. Therefore, Yun Xunlan cunningly only chose pleasant words to say to Yu Chen: “The shop owner told me that betta fish usually only live for three to five years, but I hope it can stay by my side longer, just like you, Yu Chen.”

 

Yun Xunlan’s purpose in saying these flattering words was to hint at and remind Yu Chen not to forget his previous promise; it was also to feed Yu Chen sugar-coated bullets, to make Yu Chen infatuated and unable to leave him. This was the same principle as when he previously said he never thought Yu Chen’s pheromones smelled bad. After all, “not thinking it smells bad” doesn’t equal “thinking it smells good,” so he wasn’t lying.

 

As Yu Chen listened to these words, he indeed felt that Yun Xunlan was hinting at something, and he understood this hint as the prince’s subtle and indirect confession to him. He wasn’t the type to be timid by nature; once he made up his mind, he would forge ahead without hesitation.

 

So Yun Xunlan saw that after he finished speaking, it was as if a spark had fallen into Yu Chen’s eyes. That tiny bit of warmth was like a proton beam igniting nuclear fusion, instantly releasing the world’s most uncontrollable intense emotions.

 

At this moment, his eyes were warmer than the setting sun at dusk.

 

That deep blue ice sea surface had completely melted, rippling with deep and shallow gazes. The tenderness seemed about to overflow, his voice still oddly hoarse, yet as sweet as if mixed with honey. He even started to stutter like Fu Yanxi, solemnly and seriously addressing Yun Xunlan with respect: “Your Highness, I, I hope for the same. In fact, I hope that the time I can stay by your side is…”

 

Once, Yun Xunlan thought he had been the one constantly feeding Yu Chen love potions.

 

However, now, in Yu Chen’s gentle gaze, in his low, hoarse voice, Yun Xunlan suddenly felt that he had become the one being fed love potions. Or perhaps the emotions contained in those deep sea-like eyes were too intense, hitting him like a tsunami. Yun Xunlan was pulled into the depths of the sea, momentarily falling and drowning.

 

He stared blankly into Yu Chen’s eyes, not knowing why, but inexplicably hoping the alpha would say that time limit, preferably the words “forever.”

 

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he wished. Yun Xunlan only saw Yu Chen’s lips form the word “is” before the warmth in his eyes disappeared as quickly as a receding tide, his pupils suddenly dilating.

 

The next second, Yun Xunlan was enveloped in Yu Chen’s embrace.

 

The alpha had unbuckled his seatbelt and rushed over to wrap him entirely in his arms, using his body to protect the vulnerable parts of Yun Xunlan’s body. Even the back of his head was cradled in the alpha’s palm.

 

The black wolf-tail hair tips of the man brushed against Yun Xunlan’s temples, but Yun Xunlan couldn’t feel the tickle. All his thoughts were scattered for a moment by the huge impact shock wave that followed—their car had been overturned by a hypersonic missile.

 

……

 

However, the car Yun Xunlan was riding in, though ordinary-looking on the outside, had a body alloy hardness comparable to the defensive heavy armor of a mecha. Even in such a massive explosion, not a single piece of car glass shattered.

 

When the car stopped its continuous rolling and Ni Chun regained his senses, his first reaction was to turn and look at Yun Xunlan in the back seat: “Your Highness! Are you alright?!”

 

Yun Xunlan actually didn’t feel any pain because Yu Chen had protected him well. On the contrary, it was Yu Chen—his head had hit the car window through his fingers, quite hard, but Yu Chen didn’t let out a groan. Yun Xunlan only heard his breathing become heavier for a moment.

 

So as soon as he recovered from the dizziness caused by the rapid rolling, Yun Xunlan opened his eyes, wanting to see how Yu Chen was doing, while answering Ni Chun: “I’m not… Ah!”

 

The youth’s originally normal voice ended in an unbearable cry of pain.

 

Yun Xunlan covered his eyes with his hand, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat. He curled up in pain, gritting his teeth and making up an excuse, his voice trembling: “Concussion… can’t see clearly…”

 

Concussion?

 

Yu Chen, who was checking Yun Xunlan’s body for injuries, paused at these words, doubting if he hadn’t protected Yun Xunlan’s head properly.

 

However, at this moment, Yun Xunlan’s light brain bracelet sounded a sharp alarm: “Internal bleeding point detected, a doctor has been called for you. Please immediately inject M20 type painkiller!”

 

“Please immediately inject M20 type painkiller!”

 

…

 

The light brain bracelet repeatedly emphasized this sentence. Even though Yu Chen’s heart was beating extremely fast, his fingers were steady without the slightest tremor as he took out the M20 type painkiller he carried with him. But just as he was about to inject Yun Xunlan, his body swayed, and even his vision blurred for a few seconds at that moment.

 

The reason was neither worry for Yun Xunlan nor fear and nervousness, but the pressure shock from a pheromone outburst—Yun Xunlan’s pheromones.

 

The previously sweet floral scent was now as intense as gunpowder smoke, crazily overflowing and burning Yu Chen’s respiratory tract. The enormous, heavy pressure was also trampling on his spine. Even Yu Chen, who had the best results in anti-pressure training, was now almost immobilized by this sudden pressure.

 

He took a deep breath, held it, and steadied the syringe again, injecting the M20 type painkiller into Yun Xunlan’s body.

 

The moment the syringe emptied, the youth’s body visibly relaxed. Only Yu Chen remained tense, his muscles engorged and swollen, veins protruding and pulsing on his neck. He straightened up from Yun Xunlan’s body, and a drop of steaming sweat fell from his chin, landing on the youth’s collarbone, mingling with the youth’s own fine sweat from pain.

 

At the same time, Ni Chun raised a silver handgun and aimed at Yun Xunlan: “His Highness’s pheromones are out of control, move aside!”

 

Yu Chen moved to the side.

 

“Bang bang bang…”

 

Ni Chun pulled the trigger, seemingly determined not to stop until the magazine was empty.

 

Watching the thin drug needles hit Yun Xunlan one after another, the pheromone concentration in the car was gradually filtered and cleared by the circulating air conditioning, reaching a level where its influence could be ignored. Yu Chen couldn’t help but say: “Enough, that’s sufficient.”

 

“It’s enough for you, not for others,” Ni Chun didn’t stop. “In His Highness’s current state, opening the car door would be a pheromone bomb.”

 

Yu Chen’s satellite communicator rang, Fu Yanxi’s voice anxious: “Yu Chen, how are things on your end? Is His Highness injured? We received a light brain warning!”

 

Yun Xunlan himself pressed the communicator on his ear bone to answer: “I’m fine.”

 

“Your Highness, the patrol microstar ship will arrive within five minutes, and the guard squad is on their way. The missile launch location cannot be pinpointed at the moment,” Lu You calmly reported the information. “But a fast-moving group has been detected in the sea area three kilometers ahead, possibly B-class Hyena-type light mechs.”

 

Yu Chen directly said: “Retreat first.”

 

Although the Hyena-type light mechs were not high-grade, the attackers were numerous, and they had no mechs to pilot in response. Retreating was the best choice.

 

Yun Xunlan also said: “Retreat.”

 

Ni Chun pressed the car body straightening button, and several mechanical arms extended from the side of their black car, supporting the ground to right the overturned car body. Ni Chun then slammed on the accelerator, turning the steering wheel to drive backwards.

 

Yu Chen flipped over to the trunk position inside the car, opening the sniper cannon box and quickly assembling the components in less than half a minute.

 

Then he put on the exoskeleton power suit, moved from the car window to the roof, knelt on one knee, and aimed the sniper at the sea surface.

 

The cold wind rustled his bangs, but Yu Chen’s arm holding the sniper cannon didn’t waver a millimeter. He was like a ferocious lone wolf crouching for prey, his gaze dead and cold, just waiting for the moment the first B-class Hyena-type light mech poked its head out of the sea.

 

“Click—”

 

A pale golden light accompanied by an almost inaudible trigger sound cut through the blue sky, hitting the Hyena mech’s head squarely, exploding into a blood-red flame, causing it to sink back into the sea.

 

More and more Hyenas emerged from the sea surface. The blue-eyed man, like a bloodthirsty violent hunter, captured the mechs’ movement trajectories with his top-alpha eyesight, calmly and elegantly pulling the trigger repeatedly, accurately taking down three more.

 

But the Hyena mech group soon released a large number of jamming bombs. Yu Chen could still hit the Hyena mechs but could no longer accurately hit vital parts like the mech cockpit or the mech core power source to completely immobilize them.

 

A minute later, the blue-eyed alpha’s handsome face still showed no expression, but his mouth started cursing dirtily: “Fu Yanxi, Gui Yan, fuck! Were you two kissing during shooting class? What the fuck kind of shooting is this!”

 

“Have you hit anything besides air? Can’t you aim for the head? The core source? I’m fucking done.”

 

Fu Yanxi and Gui Yan had actually destroyed several mechs too, but their combined count couldn’t match Yu Chen’s.

 

Gui Yan said helplessly: “We can’t, there are too many jamming bombs. It’s very difficult to hit them now.”

 

Lu You said: “They haven’t released any high-lethality weapon bombs.”

 

“Because they want to capture me alive,” Yun Xunlan said, slightly panting, his voice a bit shaky but his tone very firm. “Stop the car.”

 

Fu Yanxi panicked upon hearing this: “Your Highness, we can’t stop! Yu Chen, cover His Highness’s retreat. Lu You, Gui Yan, let’s cover their rear!”

 

Lu You also said: “Hold on for 128 more seconds, and the patrol microstar ships will arrive!”

 

But Yun Xunlan said: “But they only need 50 seconds to catch us. So—”

 

“Stop the car.”

 

These two words fell heavily, as if they also possessed a pressure, weighing down on everyone’s heads.

 

Yu Chen thought Yun Xunlan had opened his eyes and could see the Hyena mech group and their gradually shortening distance. Otherwise, how could he have calculated the specific value of “50 seconds”?

 

Yet when he leaned down to look inside the car, he still only saw the youth with his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, his silver hair damp with cold sweat, hanging in strands by his face.

 

Ni Chun had already stepped on the brake, bringing the car to an emergency stop, and Lu You quickly followed suit.

 

Yun Xunlan turned his face, eyes still closed, towards the direction the Hyena mech group was coming from, and continued with an unquestionable, firm attitude: “From now on, whichever mech I say to shoot at, Yu Chen, you listen to me and fire at that mech. The remaining mechs will be handled by Fu Yanxi and Gui Yan.”

 

“Don’t question any of my words.”

 

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