Chapter 65#

The Limit#

The base had been infiltrated by Zerg—and not just any Zerg, but human-Zerg hybrids!

This was no small matter.

Yin Beichen immediately reported to the home planet, summoned all senior commanders for an all-night task assignment, and ordered all guards to search every corner of the base while expanding the base’s alert perimeter.

For the interior of the base, he had Qu Yan arrange full genetic testing for all personnel to ensure no one slipped through the cracks. The most suspicious department, Research and Development, was placed under immediate lockdown, with all members divided into groups for investigation.

All of this happened while Ning Feng was down for repairs.

During the confrontation with the monster, Ning Feng’s unit had sustained severe damage. Not to mention the exposed, broken wires on his limbs—the compressor was overloaded, the power supply overheated, the cooling system was completely wrecked, and the engine, equivalent to a heart, had only a quarter of its propulsion system still functioning. If the monster had pushed any harder, even that quarter might have been lost.

So, from the rooftop, he was directly carried into the heavy armaments factory.

Fortunately, Big Beard and Samu were still there. With their all-night emergency repairs, Ning Feng was finally “rescued.” All the half-new, half-old parts on the robot were replaced; some that weren’t broken yet were temporarily kept and would be handled during the next maintenance.

Yes, including that square, battered head.

Getting up and throwing a few boxing punches, Ning Feng squeezed his brand-new honey-colored arm, feeling like his body was more agile than before.

He’d heard that this nearly silent engine unit was one of the empire’s newest models, with a honor point cost that could scare a person to death. He was still several hundred points short of even the cheapest cooling unit, let alone this engine—so all these parts had been swapped in for him by Yin Beichen.

As for Yin Beichen’s actions, Ning Feng didn’t understand them, nor did he want to.

Maybe it was because he’d caught a big fish, so the other party was “rewarding” him?

Since he had performed bravely, Yan Zhengsheng agreed to let him rest for a few days. Hearing that his damage was severe, Wen QianYong was too embarrassed to cause any more trouble; he’d been much more docile these past two days, only occasionally shouting about wanting to go out and have fun.

Meanwhile, Mad Rat and Qiu Zhen came over every day to gossip with him—about how the base had newly detected several people carrying Zerg toxin genes, how tight the recent patrol missions were, and how Yin Beichen was planning to transfer him to his side while moving Qiu Zhen to the Marine Corps, and so on.

He’d also heard about Yin Beichen wanting to transfer him.

Given the frequency with which the guy found things for him to do every day, transferring or not didn’t make much difference. However, this move met strong opposition from Yan Zhengsheng and Qu Jingshan, who argued that the logistics department already had too much work, and losing two people at once would have a significant impact.

As for Qu Jingshan… that bald man seemed to have a big problem with him, whether before or after his rebirth.

Just as Ning Feng was holed up in his small workshop, trying to get used to his new limbs, a knock sounded at the door.

“Is Blade here?”

A gentle voice came from outside. Ning Feng immediately furrowed his brow.

Qiao Xi? What was he doing here?

After a moment’s thought, he still went over and opened the electric rolling shutter.

The workshop door clanked upward, revealing Qiao Xi’s delicate face.

“Good evening, Blade.” He offered a soft smile, but when he saw the pile of clutter inside the small space, his expression turned a bit awkward. “Sorry to bother you so late… Are you feeling better?”

Ning Feng ignored him, sitting down on the only bed in the room. “I thought the entire R&D department was locked up.”

Qiao Xi immediately blushed and hurriedly explained, “I’ve already been investigated and tested. I—I really am not a bug!”

Qiao Xi passed the test?

Ning Feng subtly narrowed his lens.

He hadn’t exactly ruled out Qiao Xi; in fact, he thought the guy was the most suspicious.

But if this guy was truly infected and it had severely affected his behavior and thoughts, then he’d be like that team leader—even his blood would be deep blue. Besides, the base’s genetic testing was extremely strict; there was no way anyone could slip through. A long time ago, he had also investigated Qiao Xi’s identity, and it had indeed checked out.

So was Qiao Xi truly innocent, or was he not an ordinary Zerg?

Many thoughts flashed through Ning Feng’s mind, but his expression remained indifferent. “Oh, congratulations then.”

Qiao Xi looked around, carefully stepping over a mattress on the floor. “I heard they gave you new parts, but why didn’t you change your head?”

“What’s wrong with this face? Sturdy and durable.” Ning Feng crossed his legs. “Did you come all the way here just to ask about my face?”

“Actually, I just wanted to come see you.” Qiao Xi smiled sheepishly, then tensed up again. “That day was so terrifying—I was startled! Luckily, Beichen arrived in time…”

He looked at the robot with admiration. “But you were really amazing! Everyone’s praising you!”

“Thanks.” Ning Feng twisted his mouth, unsure if it was a smile.

“I actually know someone else who’s really amazing too.” Suddenly, Qiao Xi let out a soft sigh. “He saved me once. I’m truly grateful to him.”

“Then go tell him that. Why come to me?”

“His name is the same as yours.”

“I told you, I don’t know him.”

“I know.” Qiao Xi slowly lowered his head, his eyes full of melancholy. “He got hurt saving me—badly hurt. Later, General Yin arranged for him to be treated at a recovery facility. I don’t know how he’s doing now…”

Qiao Xi sighed again, faintly. After waiting a moment and finding Ning Feng didn’t respond, he cautiously looked up at him. “I heard that Beichen is transferring you to his side. Could—could you ask him for me—”

“No.”

This time, Ning Feng answered quickly and decisively. “I’m just a ground crew member. My superior is Lieutenant Colonel Yan Zhengsheng. You’ll have to go to him yourself.”

Seemingly unaccustomed to being rejected, Qiao Xi was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

“Sorry, I know this request is a bit rude, but I really, really want to know how he’s doing. I…” His voice grew softer, and he bit his lower lip, twisting his fingers until they turned white.

Ning Feng remained silent, letting him stare blankly at the floor.

After a while, Qiao Xi’s lips moved slightly, and he managed a weak smile. “I understand. Well, I won’t disturb your rest. Good night.”

With that, he slowly turned and walked away, his steps seeming unsteady.

Ning Feng didn’t say anything, just stared intently at Qiao Xi’s back.

He thought back to the monster repeatedly mentioning “him.”

Clearly, “he” knew Ning Feng, knew that Ning Feng could understand bug language, and even knew that Ning Feng hadn’t died.

The synthetic agent the monster had been smuggling was for research purposes, so “he” was most likely someone from R&D, with deep knowledge of Zerg. Although R&D had over a hundred people, only a few fit the criteria, and Qiao Xi was one of them—the most suspicious.

Now the question was: if it wasn’t Qiao Xi, then who was “he”?

What did “he” want with Ning Feng?

Just as Ning Feng was deep in thought, the small bulb above him flickered with a pale yellow light.

Ning Feng switched over—it was a call from Mad Rat.

Mad Rat calling him? That was rare.

He pressed accept. “Rare visitor!”

“Little radish, I gotta tell you something.” Contrary to his usual manner, Mad Rat didn’t banter back; instead, he lowered his voice. Though he still had that flippant tone, Ning Feng caught the urgency in it.

“What is it?”

“Xiao Yong sneaked out.”

Ning Feng froze for a moment, then shot to his feet. “What?! Where—where did he go?”

“A nightclub.”

“This idiot!”

His reaction wasn’t without reason.

The Nora base had strict regulations, especially regarding personnel entering and leaving. Anyone leaving the camp without reporting faced severe punishment, regardless of rank. Back when he had sneaked out to race, he had been confined for a few days, which was actually a light sentence.

For a mercenary like Wen QianYong, it could mean immediate contract termination and a hefty penalty. If Marcia found out, she’d skin him alive.

After his initial anger, Ning Feng quickly calmed down.

Wen QianYong didn’t have transportation, so he couldn’t go to another satellite. The most famous nightclubs in the area were only a few.

Thoughts raced through his mind. He told Mad Rat to report to Qu Jingshan immediately, then submitted a request to Yan Zhengsheng, called Qiu Zhen, and hurried out.

**

Meanwhile, Yin Beichen was in his office listening to reports from various departments.

After synthesizing everyone’s opinions, he decided to dispatch a squad to raid the junction points of several cargo shipping routes and arrange for the Marine Corps to reinforce patrols at transfer stations.

Once the main tasks were done, a subordinate handed over documents for Yin Beichen to confirm and sign.

His injured right hand was tightly bound in bandages, making writing a bit inconvenient. When he came to a transfer order concerning Blade, his hand paused.

Ever since discovering that monster, he had been busy with military affairs. He had only gone to take a look when Ning Feng was undergoing major repairs, telling Big Beard to keep a close watch and report any issues immediately.

Now, it had been three days. According to Big Beard, Ning Feng had been discharged and returned to his small workshop.

He had been to that workshop himself—small and cramped, very uncomfortable to live in. But Ning Feng refused to go back to the dormitory, so he just had to put up with it. His body had new parts; the response between limbs was different from before. He wondered if Ning Feng could adapt.

His fingertip traced the character “Feng” on the pen, Yin Beichen’s gaze deep and dark.

After the monster’s attack, Ning Feng’s parts had been severely damaged. According to Big Beard, it almost reached the engine. If a forced shutdown had occurred, the memory chip would definitely have been affected, and Ning Feng might have become a completely emotionless robot.

If he had been just a few seconds late…

At the thought, his jaw tightened.

Suddenly, two tightly embracing figures flashed before his eyes.

Such intimacy, such mutual trust—even through a wall of people, he could feel it. Yin Beichen pressed his thin lips together, his hand gripping the pen unconsciously, as if clutching Qu Yan’s throat.

The subordinate waiting for his signature, seeing the commander’s eyes suddenly turn as cold as knives, felt a chill run down his spine, frantically searching his mind for which character in the document was wrong. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he’d seen the general this angry—the last time was when Deputy Officer Ning went missing…

After a long while, seeing the other gradually suppress his emotions and continue signing, the subordinate breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the details were confirmed, the subordinate organized the documents and prepared to slip away, but before he could even raise his hand in salute, he was called back.

“Help me make a call.” Yin Beichen said, sending over the channel number.

“Yes.” Puzzled—why wouldn’t the commander call himself?—the subordinate dialed.

“Put it on speaker.” Yin Beichen ordered.

The ringtone sounded for a long time before finally connecting.

Then, pounding electronic music filled the entire office, mixed with noisy chatter. Seeing Yin Beichen’s brow furrow, the subordinate hurriedly spoke.

“Who is this?” A synthetic mechanical voice came through, sounding lazy.

The subordinate paused, glancing at Yin Beichen’s gradually cooling expression. “I’m an aide to General Yin.”

“Yin Beichen?” The robot seemed puzzled too. “What does he want with me?”

The aide had no idea either!

Before he could make up an excuse, Yin Beichen suddenly spoke, his voice nearly dripping with frost.

“Where are you.”

“Me? I’m out here, busy!”

“With whom?” Anger surged in Yin Beichen’s pale face as he half-squinted.

“Boss Yin, you’re being way too controlling, aren’t you? I cleared it with Lieutenant Colonel Yan.” The robot sounded baffled. “This is my personal time. I can go have some fun, can’t I—”

“Isn’t one Qu Yan enough for you?!”

At the low roar, the subordinate stumbled back two steps.

In his memory, Yin Beichen had always been cold, like a ten-thousand-year iceberg, never showing emotional fluctuations no matter what happened. But he could truly feel that this iceberg seemed about to erupt.

And he was standing right at the foot of the mountain!

That was even more terrifying than the iceberg itself!!

Worst of all, a light laugh came from the other end of the optical brain, the tone even more arrogant. “What does Professor Qu have to do with this?”

Seeing those knife-like blue eyes, if he could, the subordinate would have screamed “Shut the hell up” at the other end. But with Yin Beichen there, he didn’t dare.

He felt like even breathing was a mistake.

Just as the subordinate was trembling inside, he saw Yin Beichen close his eyes and take a deep breath, as if struggling to suppress some almost raging emotion.

After a long silence, he wiped the expression from his face and squeezed out one word at a time from between clenched teeth.

“Where are you.”

Suddenly, sweet, flirtatious laughter came from the other side.

“Bro~ who’s that?”

“Want to know? Act cute and I’ll tell you.”

“Ew~ how annoying~”

Sounds of playful banter followed, with several soft voices chiming in. Only when Yin Beichen’s gaze became almost murderous did the other person casually say two words.

“Guess?”

Beep—

The call ended.

Maybe along with it, one of General Yin’s nerves snapped.

In an instant, the office fell into deathly silence.

The subordinate swallowed hard, not daring to meet Yin Beichen’s eyes, standing stiffly at attention.

Finally, Yin Beichen spoke. “Trace the signal source.”

His voice was low and deep, like an echo from the depths of a black hole, making one’s heart tremble.

“Yes!” The subordinate, upon receiving the order, clutched the documents and dashed out, not even daring to catch his breath as he went to investigate.

Left alone, Yin Beichen lowered his head slightly, still holding the pen. The bandages on his hand were seeping faint red blood. But he didn’t even glance at it, just stood quietly, a dark, billowing anger churning in his eyes.

Ding!

Soon, a message came through on the optical brain.

Yin Beichen glanced at it, then strode out the door.

**

This place the subordinate had sent—Yin Beichen had occasionally heard people mention it.

It was a famous high-end club in the area. Aside from its exorbitant prices, it was best known for having hundreds of “princesses and princes” of all kinds. Everyone knew what kind of business went on inside.

When he arrived at the club, the hostess asked how many guests he had. Yin Beichen felt what little rationality he had left return, just a bit.

“Have you seen an old-model robot? I’m with him.” He said expressionlessly.

Because the square-headed robot was very distinctive, the hostess remembered immediately and enthusiastically led the way.

The club’s decor was extremely lavish. The lobby ceiling simulated a vast starry sky, with suspended quantum beads sparkling like stars, and golden wall panels inlaid along the walls, dazzling the eyes.

Following the hostess, Yin Beichen walked through the colorful, glowing corridor. Men and women of all types passed by, embracing each other. From dark corners came the occasional sordid sound. The anger he had barely suppressed reignited.

They walked deep into the club. The hostess pressed a doorbell, and when a response came, the black-and-gold door panels slid open.

The murky air was thick with the smell of alcohol and nicotine, mixed with a cloying incense that made one want to vomit. Wild, surging music pounded in their ears, accompanied by dim lighting, creating a revolting spectacle.

Then, Yin Beichen spotted Ning Feng at once.

He was lounging sideways, long legs casually crossed, sunk into a deep red velvet sofa, his posture lazy. Flanking him on either side were three or four handsome young men; one was nestled in his arms, carefully eating a fruit platter. Yin Beichen was certain that if this damn robot had a damn mouth, that damn young man would absolutely be feeding fruit into this damn thing’s mouth.

Probably even mouth-to-mouth.

The people in the room were all startled to see Yin Beichen, clearly not expecting him to have found his way here. Simultaneously, they all turned to look at the square-headed robot.

Ning Feng paused, then chuckled softly, draping his arms over the men on either side, tilting his head and lifting his eyelids.

“Oh, good evening, Boss Yin. You here to have some fun too?”

In that instant, Yin Beichen felt a certain nerve snap completely.