Chapter 67#

Doubt#

This horrifying scene nearly scared the people present out of their wits.

In particular, Wen Qianyong rushed forward and threw himself onto the headless body, sobbing uncontrollably while wailing, “Radish is dead, Radish is dead.” It took quite an effort from everyone else to pull him aside.

The decapitated robot couldn’t see where it was going at all. In the end, Ning Feng had to hold the head and take a dedicated vehicle back to the base. Also returning in the same vehicle was an unconscious Yin Beichen, who fortunately just lay quietly to one side without doing anything else strange.

Later, Wen Qianyong was severely reprimanded by Sha Mu and, for leaving camp without authorization, was sentenced to a few days of confinement by Ou Jingshan. The others, though also having acted first and reported later, were only fined with writing a 3,000-character self-criticism essay, given the urgency of the situation. Upon learning of the punishment notice, Qiu Zhen was furious, finding it too cold and impersonal, and grumbled all day long. Meanwhile, Crazy Rat said that being fined to write an essay was worse than being sentenced to confinement.

As for Ning Feng… Ning Feng had no time to deal with these trifles now.

Since the head was too badly damaged to be reattached, Sha Mu simply gave him a new head.

This new head was far more advanced than the previous one, because it had a face.

Not only was it made of simulated skin, but the voice library and scanning system had also been upgraded. The facial components could even mimic real muscles to produce various detailed expressions.

After that dreadful night at the club, Ning Feng desperately wanted to swap for a face that looked vicious and menacing, or one that would make people feel sick just looking at it. But thinking that doing so for Yin Beichen’s sake might cause him trouble in dealing with people later on didn’t seem worth it. Yet he didn’t want to use his own original face, nor did he want someone else’s face. So he had Sha Mu calculate a set of virtual facial features based on the face shapes of a hundred handsome men.

Although it was a collection of handsome men, it looked surprisingly ordinary. If this face had one major flaw, it was that it had no hair.

Therefore, Ning Feng had to always wear a wig.

But compared to the problems he was about to face, that was a small matter.

The next day, Ning Feng went to Yin Beichen’s office to report in with this new face.

As soon as he entered the office, Yin Beichen’s gaze locked onto him, his face unreadable.

Perhaps the strong liquor from the night before had a heavy aftereffect; Yin Beichen didn’t look well, somewhat pale, with a faint shadow cast under his deep eye sockets. Yet it still didn’t diminish his exquisite beauty.

Ning Feng ignored it, walked straight to the corner farthest from him, and stood quietly like a decoration.

There were many familiar faces in the office—all department heads or senior commanders from the base, including Ou Jingshan and Yan Zhengsheng. Compared to Yan Zhengsheng’s calmness, Ou Jingshan’s expression was less composed, his gaze constantly scanning the robot, filled with intense scrutiny.

“Continue.” Yin Beichen withdrew his gaze.

“Yes, sir.” The subordinate resumed briefing the meeting content.

Based on the earlier surprise inspections of cargo shipping routes, they had indeed uncovered quite a few things.

Besides various items banned in both the Empire and the Federation, there were also a small number of materials used for scientific research. However, these smugglers weren’t about to take it lying down. After several routes were dismantled, black-market shipping became even more covert. Although they had raided a few waypoints sporadically, they had never found the connections between them, so they could only be treated as isolated cases.

After a round of careful observation, they finally discovered a suspicious cruise ship on a certain planet.

To thoroughly investigate, Yin Beichen decided to personally participate in this operation, which was scheduled around his birthday.

Upon hearing this, the other commanders expressed disapproval.

It wasn’t because of his birthday. Yin Beichen was the military district commander, and although the starfield for this operation was in neutral territory—neither under the jurisdiction of the Federation nor the Empire—that didn’t mean it was absolutely safe. Sometimes neutral zones were even more lawless, and they suggested stationing a starship on the periphery to provide backup at any time.

As soon as he heard that Yin Beichen would personally board the ship for the investigation, Ning Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, as long as he stayed by the other’s side, he was constantly worried that this guy would suddenly have a whim and pull some kind of crazy stunt.

He began to mull over what to investigate next while the commander was away for a few days. Maybe he should start with the research department first—he heard they were dissecting the previous monster, trying to find clues about the Zerg. He wondered how far along they were…

Just as he was trying to figure out which day to invite Qu Yan out for dinner, his thoughts were directly interrupted by Yin Beichen.

“For this operation, A-Feng, you will accompany me,” Yin Beichen said.

“What do I do?” Ning Feng’s brows knitted tightly.

“Backup.”

“There are so many elites in the base—anyone would be better than me.”

Ou Jingshan quickly stepped forward. “Exactly. He’s just a mercenary who has never carried out a mission. He’s clueless, and if he’s not careful, he’ll lose his head again.”

But this remark displeased Yan Zhengsheng.

“Captain Ou, Radish is not clueless. He has a high completion rate in logistics work.” He looked at Yin Beichen seriously and said, “Commander, if he is not competent for this job, I recommend transferring him back to logistics.”

“Fine, fine, Commander. I think this suggestion is feasible.” Ou Jingshan nodded vigorously in agreement.

Yin Beichen sat in the command chair, remaining silent throughout, only watching the two of them while tapping his fingers on the armrest one after another. Only when both had quieted down did he speak slowly, “A-Feng was the one who discovered this symbol, and he was also the one who provided the clue about [G]. No one understands this better than he does.”

He paused, his face as calm as if wearing a mask. “He is the most suitable for the investigation.”

This reasoning was so solid that Ning Feng couldn’t find a way to excuse himself.

The others exchanged glances.

Having the commander bring only a robot on a mission sounded very unreliable—let alone a mercenary. If an emergency arose, who knew if it would run faster than anyone else? Eventually, thanks to Ou Jingshan’s persistent arguments, Yin Beichen finally agreed to bring one more guard.

After that, everyone discussed many more mission details.

Once the responsibilities of each department were confirmed, Yin Beichen looked at Ning Feng. “A-Feng, the disguise identity files for the mission are already prepared in the archives department. Go verify them and then sign off.”

This ordinary statement stunned everyone present.

For external missions from the base, subordinates could verify the files, but signing had to be done by the primary person in charge.

The person in charge of this mission was Yin Beichen. In the past, only his adjutant could perform this duty. But now he was letting this robot sign? Since Ning Feng had gone to the sanatorium, the adjutant position had remained vacant. Even the subordinates who helped handle military affairs only had limited authority.

Wasn’t this cleaning robot’s power a bit too great?

Or did General Yin intend to make it his adjutant?

Instantly, everyone’s gaze toward Ning Feng turned strange. Especially Ou Jingshan, whose expression—shocked, angry, anxious—also carried something… odd.

Yin Beichen seemed oblivious to all this, simply staring fixedly at the robot, as if waiting for a response.

Ning Feng… Ning Feng didn’t want to guess what this guy was trying to do, because he knew that once the other made a decision, it would be hard to reverse. He sighed softly, gave a sloppy salute, and dragged his feet out.

Thus, he didn’t see the surprise in the other commanders’ eyes when they noticed his movements.

They had seen this robot before, but in the past, its previous head had been too eye-catching, so they hadn’t noticed how its actions seemed… somewhat familiar?

This thought flashed through their minds, but they didn’t dwell on it and went off to prepare for their tasks. Soon, the large office was left with only Yin Beichen and Ou Jingshan.

Watching the commander about to look over documents, Ou Jingshan hesitated for a long time before finally reporting loudly, “Reporting, Commander. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“What is it.”

“That robot… how do you plan to deal with him?” After a pause, Ou Jingshan added, “Do you intend to make him your adjutant?”

“The adjutant is Ning Feng—that will not change,” Yin Beichen said without looking up.

Ou Jingshan felt relieved at this.

Actually, that day, Ou Jingshan had received the latest tip about the smuggling crates and was in a hurry to report it, so he rushed to the club. When he arrived, he saw Crazy Rat and a few others crouched by the crack in the door, peering inside with mischievous expressions. Upon learning that Yin Beichen was alone with that robot and had been plied with plenty of alcohol, he panicked and kicked the door open.

And what did he see?

His commander, the Empire’s youngest Major General, the Empire’s Flower, the Zerg Killer—was actually pinning down a wrecked robot, trying to molest it!

What the hell was going on?!

Later, when Yin Beichen sobered up, he seemed to have no memory of the night’s events, and the others, having swallowed a bunch of nuclear pellets, didn’t dare say a word. So that chaotic night was never mentioned again.

Now hearing that the other didn’t intend to change adjutants, Ou Jingshan relaxed.

“That’s a relief. For a moment, I thought you were going to replace him.”

“Replace him?”

“Yeah. I mean, that night I saw you…” Suddenly realizing this topic was dangerous, he shut his mouth and chuckled sheepishly. “I thought you had taken a fancy to him!”

“Taken a fancy to him?” Yin Beichen was stunned.

After a long pause, he lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes sweeping downward slightly, his line of sight landing on the pen on the desk. After a while, he spoke as if casually.

“When you take a fancy to someone… what are the signs?”

“Signs?” Ou Jingshan laughed heartily. “There are plenty.”

He walked around to Yin Beichen’s desk. “You’ll think about her, and you’ll imagine the future together. When you can’t see her, you’ll find excuses to look for her; when you meet, you can’t help wanting to talk to her, just want to be alone with her, or do anything with her.”

His eyelashes flickered suddenly, and Yin Beichen’s gaze deepened. “Anything else?”

“Anything else?” Frowning in thought, Ou Jingshan smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Then you’ll pay attention to what she likes and dislikes. Whatever she wants, you buy it for her to make her happy.”

Thinking of his own partner at home, he blushed a little. “When she’s unhappy, you’re unhappy; when she’s happy, you’re even happier. You don’t want her to worry about anything. Sometimes she can be a pain, throwing tantrums, but you just can’t stay mad.”

Gazing at the character “Feng” engraved on the pen, Yin Beichen’s expression turned dreamy, and a hint of a smile flickered across his lips.

“Indeed.”

Hearing this, Ou Jingshan studied the commander’s expression closely and suddenly felt something was off. He frowned, let out a dry laugh, and said, “Commander… you’re not saying you fit all of that, are you?”

Yin Beichen withdrew his smile and brushed a finger over his chin, as if in thought. “But do you feel anger?”

The word “but” was quite telling—it meant that everything above was indeed true?!

“You—when did you get angry?” Ou Jingshan couldn’t help but sweat secretly, his heartbeat quickening.

Yin Beichen’s brows knitted tightly. Suddenly, he looked up and cast a sharp glance that made Ou Jingshan tense.

“When he is with others.”

Ou Jingshan opened his mouth dumbly, stunned for a long time.

“Is there a problem?” Seeing no reply, Yin Beichen’s expression gradually cooled.

Shivering from the look, Ou Jingshan snapped back to himself, but his voice was already off-key. He swallowed hard and, after a rare moment of choosing his words carefully—until Yin Beichen showed impatience—he blushed and spoke quietly.

“Commander… you… you don’t mean to say you’ve fallen for it, do you?”

“Fallen for?” Yin Beichen’s breath caught. He paused, blinked as if suddenly waking up. Then, under Ou Jingshan’s shocked gaze, he showed an unprecedented look of confusion.

“Is this… falling in love?”

In an instant, it was as if 50 tons of TNT had exploded inside Ou Jingshan’s bald head.

Oh no, oh no! Looking at his expression, he’s definitely fallen for it, no doubt about it!

So Yin Beichen had been single all these years because he liked robots? Even if it’s cross-species, could it be cross-light-years?! At least find something alive!

And what about Ning Feng? He’s been secretly in love for years!

Damn it! This damned wrecked robot! Not only did it steal someone’s name, but now it’s stealing someone’s boyfriend too—and while the other person is hospitalized! Shameless!

No, no! He absolutely had to stop this!!

Ou Jingshan rubbed his eyebrows vigorously. If he hadn’t remembered this was the commander’s office, he would have started pacing back and forth. In just a few seconds, dozens of plans to break up the pair flashed through his bald head—the first being this investigation mission: he must not give them any opportunities!

“Commander, I’ll get to work now.”

While Yin Beichen was still dazed, Ou Jingshan tightened his face, quickly saluted, and hurried out.

Before long, the large office fell silent.

Yin Beichen’s eyelashes drooped, his eyes flickering—whether with surprise or panic, it was hard to tell.

After a long silence, he reached for that pen and slowly rubbed the “Feng” character on it. His fingertips traced the shallow lines stroke by stroke, as if outlining someone’s appearance. Yin Beichen pursed his lips into a faint smile.

“Falling in love…?”

At that moment, in the research building, Qiao Xi stood by a glass window in the corridor, looking down at a tall figure not far away.

That person walked with a casual air, but every step was precisely measured, as if paced by a ruler. Without years of military experience, one could never walk like that.

Qiao Xi’s thin lips pressed together slightly, his light-colored pupils narrowing into ellipses.

“Qiao Xi!”

Just then, a warm call came from behind. Qiao Xi’s eyes flickered, he adjusted his black-rimmed glasses with his middle finger, and immediately switched to an amiable smile. “Ah! You’re back!”

“Sorry, sorry. Have you been waiting long?” A man in uniform ran over breathlessly, holding a bag with two large cups of different colored drinks. “Here’s your fruit tea.” He handed the drink over. “I saw you order from this shop several times; it must be really good.”

“Thanks~” Carefully taking the bag, Qiao Xi gave a sweet smile.

The man was stunned, his face reddening to his ears. After stammering for a moment, he scratched his head awkwardly. “Um, are you free tonight? I know a new dish at that booth place—it tastes pretty good. How about—”

“Of course!” Qiao Xi nodded eagerly, but then slumped his shoulders dejectedly. “But I have a report due tomorrow…”

“Ah… no worries. Work comes first. Another time is fine.”

“But you rarely ask me out…”

“It’s okay. We can do another time.”

They chatted for a while longer, and then Qiao Xi excused himself, saying he had things to do. He hugged the two drinks tightly and quickly walked to a corner of the corridor. After glancing around to make sure no one was there, he pulled out one cup, tilted it slightly, and looked at the bottom.

There, faintly imprinted on the frosted plastic cup, was a small symbol—G.

Seeing this, Qiao Xi’s smile widened even further.