Gu Lin rushed to Li Shu’s side as fast as he could. In that moment, he couldn’t quite describe the feeling. It was as if a piece of his heart had gone missing, and a tremendous sense of fear rose up within him.
His heart stopped.
The world lost its color, and everything disappeared from his sight except for this one person. The bright red blood stung his eyes, as if the sky were drenched in blood. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Something vanished, and a vision appeared before his eyes. It was a vast battlefield, littered with dismembered bodies and drenched in blood. Both sides were roaring in anger, and he stood on the opposite side of someone both familiar and unfamiliar. Between them lay the divide of life and death, with countless lives lost in between.
Despair surged within him. No one understood better than he did that the only possibility between them had already been destroyed. He wanted to be with that person, but what had he done? He had pushed them further away, even severing the last remaining chance between them with his own hands.
Time heals all wounds. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the war had ended and people rebuilt their homes on the once smoke-filled battlefield. He returned to that place, but there was nothing left. Because of him, that person had vanished into the world, never to be found again.
The vision disappeared, and he was now standing in front of Li Shu. Just like in his memories, he waved his hand, and the immense power within him surged. With just one move, the grotesque Zerg seemed to suffer an irreversible blow.
Their massive bodies collapsed with a loud crash, and dust rose into the air. Only the strange man standing in the midst of the Zerg swarm remained upright.
What kind of power was that? As if it didn’t belong to this world. Fear flickered across the Zerg man’s face. Obviously, even he hadn’t expected Gu Lin to unleash such overwhelming power.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Gu Lin didn’t spare a glance at the Zerg he had just knocked down. He grabbed Li Shu’s hand, asking anxiously.
Li Shu was dazed. At that moment, Gu Lin merged with the shadow from his heart. It felt as though it had always been this person who stood before him and held back all the danger.
Li Shu quickly snapped out of his daze. It was merely a lingering memory, completely unrelated to the present.
He reached out and covered the man’s trembling hand. “I’m fine.”
“How could you be fine? You’re hurt,” Gu Lin pointed at the wound on Li Shu’s arm, the place where the Zerg had injured him. Though it looked serious, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
Blood continued to pour out, and amidst the scent of blood, there was a faint, sweet trace of Omega pheromones. Gu Lin’s expression changed and he removed his coat and wrapped it around Li Shu. “I’ll take you back first.”
The strange man was also taken back. There were too many suspicious points about him, and he needed to be investigated carefully.
This seemingly ordinary planet seemed to have many secrets hidden beneath the surface.
Before Li Shu could resist, he was already bundled up in Gu Lin’s coat and carried in his arms. The others who had accompanied Gu Lin followed closely, bringing the suspicious man with them.
Li Shu glanced up and saw the man’s tense jawline. His lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes full of determination. He didn’t look at the person in his arms—he was afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from wanting to hide the person away.
It had only been a short time, just a brief moment when he hadn’t stayed by Li Shu’s side, and something like this had happened. He didn’t dare to imagine what might have happened if he had arrived a little later.
No matter the outcome, it would be unbearable for him. Never before had he been so certain of how important Li Shu was to him. He couldn’t stand to see Li Shu hurt, not even a little. This was someone he should hold and protect in his arms, keeping them safe from any storm outside.
Of course, Gu Lin also knew how strong Li Shu was. If he really compared the two of them, he knew Li Shu wasn’t any weaker than him. If it weren’t for this certainty, he wouldn’t have let Li Shu go out alone.
Knowing was one thing, but some feelings were beyond his control.
Once they returned, the first thing Gu Lin did was treat the wound on Li Shu’s arm. It was a long gash, sliced open by the Zerg’s sharp forelimbs. Though it looked terrifying, it hadn’t hit any vital areas.
The moment Gu Lin saw the wound, his eyes turned red. He would rather be injured himself than see Li Shu hurt.
Carefully, he treated the wound and meticulously wrapped it up. Having faced the Zerg many times before, Gu Lin knew exactly how to handle wounds caused by them.
Looking at the man squatting before him, Li Shu reached out and touched Gu Lin’s forehead. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.”
Gu Lin’s hand paused briefly, but he didn’t reply.
Once the bandaging was done, Li Shu ignored Gu Lin’s attempts to make him stay and rest. Instead, he went to see the man they had captured.
The man had suffered significant injuries from the shockwave of Gu Lin’s energy burst. If it hadn’t been for that, they wouldn’t have been able to bring him back so easily.
The man was confined in a sealed room, guarded by two men outside. When they saw Gu Lin, they saluted and stepped aside.
The man was restrained by specialized bindings, designed specifically for dealing with those with supernatural abilities, to prevent them from lashing out during captivity.
From the perspective of human aesthetics, this was a very handsome man, but his sinister eyes ruined the beauty, giving off an unsettling vibe.
His irises were a metallic silver, cold like steel. Being stared at by those eyes sent a chill down one’s spine.
These were eyes devoid of human emotion. Despite his perfect human appearance, it was impossible to ignore the fact that this “person” wasn’t truly human.
No matter how human he looked, the fact that he could command the Zerg proved he wasn’t one of their kind.
“What exactly is it?” Li Shu stood a little distance away, not approaching. Gu Lin positioned his body halfway in front of him, prepared for any sudden attacks.
“It’s a Zerg.” Even if they didn’t want to admit it, they couldn’t ignore the facts.
As the Empire developed over the centuries of battling the Zerg, they had created countless technologies to deal with them, including devices designed to detect Zerg identities.
These devices were essential in the military, and Gu Lin had many of them.
“Is it really a Zerg? When did they gain the ability to transform into humans?”
This question also puzzled many others in the Empire as well. In their understanding, Zerg didn’t have the ability to take human form. If they truly could, it would be terrifying to imagine.
The Emperor’s face was grim as he pointed to the report Gu Lin had sent. “How did something this big go unnoticed before?”
Fanna Star wasn’t under Gu Lin’s jurisdiction, so it wasn’t fair to blame him. The real responsibility lay with the legion in charge of the planet’s security.
Everyone in the conference room had serious expressions. The fact that Zerg could transform into humans was no small matter. The implications were vast, and the Emperor understood this well and calmed his temper.
“I don’t care why this information wasn’t reported earlier. From now on, I want everyone to pay attention. Investigate this thoroughly. I want to know what’s really going on here.”
“Could it be that Marshal Gu made a mistake?” someone suggested hesitantly. This matter was too bizarre, completely overturning their understanding. The idea of Zerg in human form was hard to grasp.
“Mistake?! Do you take Gu Lin for a fool like some of you? If he wasn’t sure, would he have reported this? Use your brains, will you?” The Emperor nearly lost his temper again. At such a critical time, they still couldn’t get their act together.
“Didn’t Gu Lin submit a request earlier? I’ve approved it. Let him handle this matter. Send word to the Chiyan Legion, have them meet up with Gu Lin.”
“Is that really appropriate?”
“There’s no issue here. Don’t think I don’t know about the little schemes you’ve got going on in your heads. I’ve just been too lazy to deal with them until now. But at a time like this, don’t bring up excuses.”
No one dared to speak again after that. After a long silence, Marshal Lin Feng of the Dongque Legion spoke up. “Your Majesty, since this issue occurred in my jurisdiction, it is my failure. Please give me a chance to make amends.”
The Emperor pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Very well, Marshal Lin, you may assist.”
The news from the Empire Star soon reached Gu Lin. He was a bit surprised that the Emperor had agreed to let the Chiyan Legion get involved, but he wasn’t at all shocked when he heard that Lin Feng would be stepping in too.
The Emperor’s orders came swiftly, commanding Gu Lin to thoroughly investigate the matter. Gu Lin had already intended to do so. Even without the order from above, he would have pursued this. What he didn’t expect was that the Emperor would place him in charge as the primary leader of the investigation.
Li Shu, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised. As the saying goes, “if you want the horse to run, you have to let it eat grass.” The people on the Empire Star wanted Gu Lin to resolve this issue, so naturally, they had to offer some benefits in return.
The progress, however, wasn’t smooth. After that, they discovered a few more Zerg with human forms, but each time they dug deeper, the trail went cold. Up until now, they still hadn’t uncovered the origins of these Zerg.
It was as if they had suddenly appeared overnight, with no trace of their previous existence. It seemed as though they had always been on this planet from the very beginning.
This was highly unusual. Even if this planet was a pirate base, it wasn’t a place where Zerg could grow unchecked. Once any trace of the Zerg was discovered, a capture operation would be launched. If left unchecked, the Zerg could devour the entire planet in a matter of days.
So, where had these Zerg suddenly come from?
The investigation had reached a stalemate. On the surface, their operations seemed successful, capturing the targets they needed to, but those involved knew that they had made basically no progress. They hadn’t uncovered any of the truly important information.
“Don’t lose heart.” Li Shu walked up behind Gu Lin and began to massage his temples.
Li Shu was now living under the identity of “Li Shu”. After some discussion, the two of them had decided to keep the relationship between “Lu Xi” and “Li Shu” a secret for the time being.
Gu Lin sat in the chair, feeling the steady pressure on his temples, and the exhaustion of the day melted away. He reached out and grasped the Omega’s soft hand.
“Let me hold you for a bit.”
With a firm tug, Li Shu was pulled onto the man’s lap, and his waist was quickly encircled.
Gu Lin rested his head on Li Shu’s shoulder, his eyes narrowing slightly. The deeper they dug into this matter, the more he had a growing sense of unease.
It was as if invisible hands were pushing the development of this incident. The weight of past events pressed heavily on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
