TCPUAAV Chapter 118

 

Fighting was clearly off the table for now—time to get back to business.

 

Garland and Hector headed over to the rest area.

 

Everyone was already there. When the two walked in side by side, the Crown Prince looked visibly relieved, while Ruan Shiqing’s expression was somewhat awkward. Only the little dragon cub, still angry over Daddy Garland being “bullied,” rushed over indignantly, stomping across the floor and throwing himself at Garland’s leg. He bared his tiny fangs at Hector and snapped, “Daddy Garland, did Hector bully you?!”

 

Garland gave a light cough and shot a sideways glance at Hector with an expression as calm as a mountain collapse, then said, “He wouldn’t dare.”

 

The little dragon cub looked half-convinced and opened his mouth to say more, but Hector cut him off by scooping him up and pinning him in his arms. He brusquely changed the subject: “What’s the plan for those two Zergs?”

 

Pressed against his chest and struggling to breathe, the little dragon cub wriggled for a good while before finally managing to stick his head out, glaring at Hector in frustration.

 

Still, he didn’t go back to the earlier topic. His attention had been successfully redirected to the Zerg.

 

“They’re currently on the rescue fleet’s ship, being escorted to Sikkim,” Ruan Shiqing explained. “Before leaving, Garland had already spoken with the rescue unit—they’ve agreed to ease security. We’ll tail them for now and see what they do next.”

 

Sally and Jason had left around the same time. While Sally and Jason headed openly toward Sikkim, Garland’s group had pretended to return to Planet B3024—when in fact, they’d activated stealth mode and covertly turned around to follow.

 

“If they’re going to make a move, it’ll probably be in this star sector.” Rong Heng pulled up the star map and tapped a finger on a vast and empty region—right next to a hyperspace lane.

 

Sally was currently carrying ten Zerg eggs. If those eggs were important enough, there might even be more Zerg coming to retrieve them. It’d be the perfect opportunity to capture a few more humanoid-type Zerg and dig deeper into their secrets.

 

But this star sector was still quite a distance from Driftwood Star—it would take a few hours of travel time.

 

With the plan agreed upon, the group dispersed for the time being.

 

Garland and Hector, having plenty of history to catch up on, naturally returned to their room. Before they left, Hector, worried about getting interrupted again by the clueless little cubs like before, paid Merrell a hefty sum to take all the idle little ones to the combat training room for drills.

 

That left only Rong Heng, Ruan Shiqing, and the golden little robot, 09, in the rest area.

 

The Crown Prince glared at the annoying golden robot and gave him a meaningful look.

 

09 met his gaze in confusion, blinking—so much so that the little red light on his screen stopped flashing altogether. After a moment, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

 

What’s wrong? Obviously, you’re ruining my mood. Can’t you see I’m trying to flirt?

 

Rong Heng gave him another glare, cursing the robot’s lack of tact in his heart.

 

With a disgruntled hum, he finally gave up trying to get rid of the little robot and pretended he didn’t exist. Lowering his head, he scrolled through his terminal and opened the latest news feed.

 

The hottest topic on the holonet right now was none other than the silent invasion of Driftwood Star by the Zerg.

 

Unsurprisingly, the revelation had triggered mass panic. And panic almost always came hand-in-hand with anger.

 

The Driftwood Star incident was basically a replay of what happened on Lunka Star—but this time, it was far more disturbing. Driftwood Star had been occupied for an entire week without anyone noticing a thing. If not for a passenger ship stumbling upon a Zerg ambush while passing through, who knew how long the Empire would have remained in the dark?

 

Worse still, the Zerg that had once only existed beyond the frontlines were now beginning to show up deep within imperial space, wreaking havoc everywhere they went. And the imperial government and military? Completely unresponsive. Not even a single explanation.

 

Outraged citizens flooded the holonet with criticism, questioning the government and military’s competence and demanding both an official explanation and real action to drive out the Zerg.

 

Yet the latest announcement from the ruling government had nothing to do with the Zerg—instead, it was about a banquet being planned for the Emperor’s father-in-law’s birthday on Sijialan Star.

 

Scanning one shocking headline after another, Rong Heng casually picked one and, feigning a desire to share it, smoothly walked over to Ruan Shiqing’s side. Sitting down next to him, he shared his terminal’s virtual screen, tone laced with sarcasm: “At a time like this, the Emperor actually has the leisure to throw a birthday banquet for his father-in-law.”

 

“A banquet? Now?” Ruan Shiqing frowned, leaning in slightly for a better look at the article.

 

Rong Heng had deliberately chosen a seat close to him to begin with—close enough that they were separated by barely a fist’s width. Now, with Ruan Shiqing leaning in, even that space vanished. Their thighs brushed, only a thin layer of fabric between them and the warmth of skin.

 

Ruan Shiqing, however, was still focused intently on the screen.

 

The warmth of their bodies subtly seeped into each other, mingling in the narrow space between them. Rong Heng blinked uncomfortably, wanting to move—but he forced himself to stay still.

 

Whatever irritation he’d felt after reading the news had completely dissipated, replaced by a quiet, secret delight.

 

He stole a glance at Ruan Shiqing out of the corner of his eye. The other man was still focused on the screen, face intent and serious. Unable to resist, Rong Heng leaned in just a bit closer.

 

Now their shoulders were touching, their faces nearly brushing. The closeness was intimate, ambiguous. From this distance, Rong Heng could even make out the fine, soft fuzz on Ruan Shiqing’s cheek.

 

His heart pounded erratically.

 

At a distance like this, it felt like all he had to do was lift his arm and he could easily pull the other man into his arms.

 

Once the thought surfaced, it refused to leave—boiling in his chest like scalding water, making his throat go dry and his breath unsteady.

 

Rong Heng’s expression shifted several times as he wrestled with himself.

 

One part of him just wanted to throw caution to the wind and embrace the man beside him. The other kept sounding alarm bells—warning him not to act so recklessly, not to ruin everything.

 

His arm, resting on the back of the sofa, lifted… then dropped… then lifted again. But no matter how many times he worked up the nerve, he never followed through.

 

Just as he was about to lower his arm yet again, Ruan Shiqing finished reading the article. He leaned back naturally, murmuring, “His Majesty really has his priorities backwards,” and happened to lean right into Rong Heng’s arm—before the Crown Prince could withdraw it in time.

 

The body reacts faster than the mind. Rong Heng’s hand instinctively steadied him by the shoulder, almost as if he had, in that moment, truly pulled him into his arms.

 

A jolt of shock ran through Rong Heng. He turned his face toward Ruan Shiqing, heart racing like a wild rabbit.

 

But Ruan Shiqing didn’t seem fazed. He looked like he’d merely leaned back and accidentally bumped into Rong Heng’s arm. Sitting upright again, he gave a polite, easy smile and said, “Sorry about that.”

 

Rong Heng awkwardly withdrew his arm, watching him closely. Once he confirmed Ruan Shiqing hadn’t noticed anything unusual, he finally breathed a small sigh of relief—but deep down, there was a twinge of disappointment.

 

Forcing himself to act nonchalant, he followed up dryly, “It’s not the first time he’s done something like this.”

 

Inside, though, he was cursing Hector to hell and back.

 

Damn that dumb dragon. If he hadn’t stirred up all those feelings earlier, Rong Heng wouldn’t have lost control just now—nearly letting everything slip.

 

 

 

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Lol at Hector paying Merrell and Rong Rong trying to shoo off (and failing to) our cute little 09 lmao

 

(I don’t recall Sijialan already falling into Siyan’s hands???? How the heck are they going to have a banquet there???)

 

Thanks for reading!

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