Chapter 7#

The Beta Lieutenant Colonel Who Died for His Country#

Back on the starship, Lu Heng had completely forgotten about getting Hewitt’s brain checked; he was in a hurry to repair his lightbrain. Hewitt’s brain issue was put on the back burner. Hewitt generally acted on instinct anyway, so the problem with his brain was not all that important.

“Adjutant Reiner, this lightbrain’s chip is completely scrapped,” the communications officer said, setting down the tool in his hand.

“Can’t it be repaired?”

The communications officer shook his head. “I’ll immediately apply for a new adjutant-authority lightbrain. During this period, we can only use a standard lightbrain as a substitute.”

“How long until the new lightbrain arrives?” Lu Heng frowned.

“At minimum, a month after the process and approval are completed. The logistics department has always been this inefficient. I’ve complained several times already…” The communications officer was usually a chatterbox. After Lu Heng asked a few more questions, he couldn’t help but start complaining, until someone kicked him under the table.

Suddenly realizing that the person before him was the strict and unsympathetic Adjutant Reiner, the communications officer broke out in a cold sweat on his back. “S-sorry, Adjutant Reiner. Do you have an urgent need? I can, I can…”

Lu Heng looked at the tall man who had stammered for a long while without producing anything coherent, his expression unchanged. “Notify me immediately when the new lightbrain arrives.”

With the lightbrain matter settled, the next thing was to fulfill his earlier promise. In just the few days since returning, Hewitt had sent dozens of messages, all about when they would spar and the like. Lu Heng did not want to be subjected to another relentless barrage of calls, so he arranged to spar with him today.

When Lu Heng arrived at the training room, Hewitt was already waiting inside. A crowd had gathered outside the training room, all looking excited and expectant.

“Are you going to turn on the external projection?” Lu Heng walked in, and the training room door slowly closed behind him.

“I don’t know who leaked it.” Hewitt’s face was gloomy. It was a rare chance to spar with Lu Heng, and he didn’t want too many irrelevant people watching.

Lu Heng didn’t care whether people were watching. “The people in the squad are so motivated; you should be happy. Well? Do you want mecha or close-quarters combat?”

“Close-quarters combat first, then mecha?” Hewitt was a little greedy.

“I don’t have that much time.” Lu Heng refused mercilessly.

“Little Nana, you’re rejecting me again.” Hewitt looked dejected. “There haven’t been any missions recently. There’s nothing much to be busy with.”

“If our commander didn’t absolutely detest paperwork, I imagine I indeed wouldn’t have much to be busy with.” Lu Heng glanced at Hewitt.

Hearing that, Hewitt didn’t dare say more. He truly was not good at handling paperwork, and some paperwork that should have been handled by the commander had fallen onto Lu Heng’s shoulders. But he had no other choice. The paperwork involved a great deal of classified matters, and aside from Lu Heng, he trusted no one else.

Hewitt gave an embarrassed smile. “Then close-quarters combat.”

Lu Heng nodded, casually tossed his military jacket aside, undid two shirt buttons, and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. Hewitt reluctantly turned on the external projection, tilted his head left and right to loosen up, and then attacked without holding back.

The fight inside the training room was fierce, and the crowd outside was in high spirits.

“Wow, someone can actually fight the commander for so long without losing the upper hand! Last time the commander gave me pointers, he beat me down in ten minutes.”

“I never imagined Adjutant Reiner, who usually looks so refined, could fight like this.”

“Maybe the commander is going easy on him…”

“Exactly. Adjutant Reiner is a logistics officer. If someone accidentally beats him black and blue, there’d be no one in our Fenglei who could handle dealings with the high-level military command.” A voice full of malice rang out.

A burst of laughter rose from the crowd.

The two inside the training room could not hear the discussion outside. Lu Heng and Hewitt knew each other very well and both used their full strength.

Dodging Hewitt’s side kick, Lu Heng used the ground to push off, leaving a footprint an inch deep. He leaped up and pressed his knee toward Hewitt’s face. Hewitt changed moves extremely quickly, bending his forearm in front of his face to receive the enormously powerful blow. His whole body was pushed backward a long distance by the tremendous force.

In just a few minutes, the two exchanged hundreds of moves. The onlookers outside were dumbstruck. Those with slightly weaker strength could only see streaks of afterimages. Only then did they gain a clear understanding of Lu Heng’s strength.

“Adjutant Reiner is so strong. He really seems evenly matched with the commander…”

“That footprint he just stamped on the ground—this is the highest-grade training room. Even a full-force attack from me wouldn’t leave a mark.”

As time passed, the high-intensity battle left both Lu Heng and Hewitt somewhat short of breath. A drop of sweat slid down Lu Heng’s forehead, and a few stray hairs fell in front of his eyes. Seizing a gap, Lu Heng raked his hair back with one hand. His usually neatly combed hair became messy, and even those usually cold eyes seemed to shimmer with light.

Lu Heng looked toward Hewitt and saw that he seemed a little dazed, so he spoke up in reminder: “Don’t lose focus. You actually made such a rookie mistake.”

Hewitt came back to his senses. He pressed a button and turned off the external projection. “Today was truly satisfying. It’s been a long time since I fought so joyfully. Little Nana, you’d better be careful next.”

From Hewitt’s starting stance, Lu Heng knew his next move. It was a move he was extremely familiar with. Back at the military academy, they had sparred like this no less than a thousand times. Lu Heng’s body moved to meet it as if it had memory, but when they made contact, Hewitt raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You fell for it.”

The sparring session finally ended with Lu Heng pinned to the ground by Hewitt. Lu Heng’s chest heaved violently, and Hewitt’s long, knuckled fingers pressed against it. The two silently looked at each other like this. The strange atmosphere was broken by a drop of sweat. That mischievous drop slid down Hewitt’s sharply defined jaw and landed at the corner of Lu Heng’s mouth. Hewitt instinctively raised his hand, wanting to wipe away that drop of sweat, with a trace of inexplicable jealousy.

Lu Heng turned his head away, and Hewitt’s rough fingers brushed across his cheek. “You can get up now.”

Hewitt rolled over and lay face-up on the ground. Lu Heng didn’t want to move either. Sparring with Hewitt, who was practically first in the Alliance in actual combat strength, was too great a drain on both mind and body. He rarely indulged himself and lay on the ground without any regard for dignity.

“Last time at the shelter, Carlo interrupted us. After you came back, you’ve been busy the whole time. Can you answer that question now?” Hewitt asked.

Lu Heng thought for a moment, but didn’t quite know where to begin. Hewitt did not interrupt his thoughts and quietly waited for him to speak. Actually, what Lu Heng was thinking was whether this was truly a good time. The client had requested that the misunderstanding with Hewitt be eliminated; the reason Reiner and Hewitt had grown distant naturally had to be made known to Hewitt. But when to let him know required seizing a very good opportunity. Lu Heng always felt that now was not quite suitable.

An urgent communication saved the conflicted Lu Heng. After reading it, Hewitt said to Lu Heng, “Come to the combat command room in an hour. There’s an important discovery in the star chart analysis.”

After taking a shower in his cabin and resting a little, Lu Heng walked out the cabin door, preparing to head to the combat command room, only to see an uninvited guest sitting by the cabin door. Lu Heng felt a faint throbbing at his temples.

“Adjutant Reiner.”

Carlo, only twenty-eight years old, had just reached adulthood and had always been as vibrant as the morning sun. He loved to smile, and his smile was highly infectious. Wherever he was, even the air seemed lively and sweet. He had no small number of admirers in Fenglei.

But the Carlo before him now was so pale he was almost transparent. Beneath his clear, doe-like eyes hung two large dark circles. His lips were white, even peeling. If his admirers saw him like this, they would probably hurriedly agree to all his requests, just to make him smile again.

Unfortunately, Lu Heng was not one of Carlo’s admirers. He only found it somewhat troublesome.

Seeing Lu Heng, Carlo stood up joyfully, but because he had maintained the same posture for too long, he wobbled and nearly collapsed to the ground.

Lu Heng stepped forward and supported Carlo’s arm, but Carlo took the opportunity to grab Lu Heng’s hand. “Adjutant Reiner, I beg you…”

“Sorry, Carlo, I’m in a hurry.” Lu Heng cut off Carlo’s upcoming long speech. If he let him continue, there would be no way to escape for hours. Lu Heng exerted a bit of force, wanting to break free.

Unexpectedly, Carlo suddenly became emotional and actually dropped to his knees, hugging Lu Heng’s leg while kneeling. “Adjutant Reiner, if you don’t agree to my request, I won’t get up!”

Lu Heng felt his temples were about to explode. He truly was not good at dealing with this kind of person. No matter what you are saying, no matter whether you are listening, they are forever immersed in their own world and logic. However, given Reiner’s personality, it was actually easy to resolve the situation before him.

Lu Heng’s expression turned stern, and he shouted sharply, “Private Carlo Meg! Your current behavior is simply smearing the honor of Alliance soldiers!”

Carlo had never seen Lu Heng so stern and fierce, and froze on the spot.

“Stand up! That’s an order!” Seeing Carlo stand up meekly, Lu Heng didn’t want to say anything more to him and turned to leave.

Watching Lu Heng’s back, Carlo felt extremely wronged. Adjutant Reiner was really too unsympathetic. Although he himself was an Omega, his abilities were no worse than a Beta’s—or even an Alpha’s. If only he could be given a chance to prove himself.

“Carlo, what’s wrong?” A voice like a spring breeze sounded behind Carlo.

Carlo turned and saw the handsome brown-haired man. “Andrew…”

Before he could finish, the tears in Carlo’s eyes finally fell. It was not weakness; rather, Andrew had always been very gentle with him. The moment he saw Andrew, he felt as if he were seeing his older brother. If he had an older brother, then at a time like this, he would surely comfort him gently.

“Cute little Carlo, may I have the honor of inviting you to the dining hall to sit for a while?” Andrew bowed gentlemanly. “I heard today’s dessert is quite good.”