The out-of-control Slash Comet fell rapidly from high altitude. When the impact occurred, he was engulfed in darkness brought by huge waves for a second.
“…Jiang…!”
His consciousness was quickly pulled out of the abyss by someone, and Jiang Jianming opened his eyes.
At first, he saw a hazy light, and the overly bright spots made him close his eyes again before opening them, and the blurry outline became clear.
The winter wind blew through the pale sky, and the cold waves were gently caressing the riverbank. The sand was covered with shattered crystal bones.
The prince’s long hair was scattered, and water droplets fell from his hair onto his eye corners and slid down, leaving traces like tears.
Jiang Jianming was a little stunned for a moment.
“Jiang!”
Garcia suddenly held his cheeks on both sides, his movements were a bit urgent, and his emerald eyes stared at him anxiously.
“Hiss…” Jiang Jianming moved a bit, squinted and looked around with difficulty, and his voice was weak. “Where is this?”
Is it over… these days of thrilling events, from last night to the early morning battle.
The exploited people, the cult forces that incited the crystal chaos, the dead soldiers of the Golden Sun Wheel, and the Prime Minister Laurent, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
But now, everything around him was so clear and peaceful. He lay on the riverbank, and the only person guarding him was the one in front of him.
Garcia breathed a sigh of relief, helped him sit up, let him lean on his chest, and then took out a tranquilizer spray and let him take two puffs. “How are you?”
“…I’m fine. I’m not injured, just tired.” Jiang Jianming’s face was as white as snow, and it took him a while to suppress the feeling of dizziness caused by lack of oxygen. “Did we crash into the riverbank?”
He turned his head and saw the wreckage of the mecha Slash Comet soaking in the river, which had turned into a pile of scrap iron, emitting billowing smoke.
It was clear to the naked eye that it was no longer in a condition that could be repaired.
Garcia: “You are not injured, but after I dragged you ashore, you still slept for almost an hour… What made you dare to jump on my mecha with this kind of body?”
“…I’m sorry.” Jiang Jianming knew he was in the wrong.
A flying object quickly approached from the sky, and Garcia turned his head sharply and glanced, “It’s the Golden Sun Wheel’s reconnaissance plane.”
Jiang Jianming nodded. The Crystal Cult had been repelled, and the remaining matters would naturally be properly handled by the military, but…
Garcia appeared in public for him and released his crystal bones.
Undoubtedly, if they followed the Golden Sun Wheel back, Garcia would be called Prince Ryann all the way until he was sent back to the White Jade Palace.
“You still don’t want to…?” Jiang Jianming looked at him.
Without saying a word, Garcia lifted Jiang Jianming’s legs and stood up, holding him in his arms. “I said that was the last time I will help you.”
He carried Jiang Jianming to the top of the riverbank, where there were rugged rocks and low shrubs, a hidden corner.
“Now, if they come to me, I will say in front of the entire empire that the body of the Crown Prince Ryann has rotted, and even the ashes have been eaten by alien creatures.”
“His poor widow is left alone and helpless and has to be brought by the military to the front line.”
“Then he was captured by the evil Second Prince?” Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but tease him, quietly whispering in Garcia’s ear.
“… ” Garcia didn’t expect Jiang Jianming to pick up his nonsense, and was choked for a moment. His ears turned slightly red, and he reached out and covered the mouth of the disabled human.
The reconnaissance plane spotted the Slash Comet, and the soldiers shouted and searched upstream and downstream in two ways.
Behind the thorny bushes on the bank, Jiang Jianming was tightly held in Garcia’s arms. The prince’s nose rubbed against his earlobe, and his shallow breath swept over his neck, but he couldn’t move.
Jiang Jianming didn’t struggle, he just helplessly lowered his gaze and finally sent a message with his wrist device.
Soon, the team leader among the soldiers shouted, “The Commander-in-Chief said there’s no need to search anymore.”
“No need to search?” The group of people looked at each other and had to give up. They tied the wreckage of the Slash Comet to several reconnaissance planes and dragged it out of the river.
“Go go go.”
After everyone left, Garcia let go of Jiang Jianming in his arms, grabbed his collar, and pulled him out from behind the cover.
“Go home.” Garcia spoke in a commanding tone.
Jiang Jianming was surprised that Garcia would use the word “home” and it sounded so natural, as if he said it unconsciously.
Where is home? He only lived in the Golden Sun Wheel dormitory for a few days.
But of course, he wouldn’t say anything. The two of them walked along the riverbank towards the direction of the town. When they reached the city, Jiang Jianming went to buy two new face concealers and came back, wearing them separately with Garcia before they could blend into the crowd.
The atmosphere of the entire Aslan City was visibly different.
The sun shone on the artificial flower beds, cobblestone roads, and small flags, and air vehicles whizzed by in the wind. People of all ages and genders had excited expressions on their faces.
Both of them knew that this was not just because of the festival.
When they heard the words “Crown Prince” from the third passing couple, Jiang Jianming was finally tortured by Garcia’s almost murderous expression next to him.
“Your Highness,” he grabbed Garcia’s arm and leaned over to whisper, “I want to buy some New Year festival food to eat tonight and also need to report to the military… Why don’t you go back first?”
If they continued to walk together, especially in the bustling area and near the military, it was only a matter of time before they were exposed, even with the face concealers.
There was no choice. In the early morning of that mecha battle, the two of them – or “Crown Prince Ryann” and “the unknown person who could start the mecha for the Crown Prince” – were too conspicuous.
Garcia gave him a deep look.
“…Okay.”
Jiang Jianming was skeptical. “You won’t secretly follow me behind, would you?”
Garcia’s face was expressionless. “No.”
…Forget it. Jiang Jianming thought helplessly. Even if they walked one after the other, it was better than walking side by side like this.
And after such a thrilling battle, Garcia was probably really worried about him walking alone. Let him go ah.
Jiang Jianming then ignored the Crown Prince and went to buy some New Year festival goods.
He was used to being frugal, had low material desires, and didn’t like to spend extravagantly during the New Year’s. But for the sake of having His Royal Highness feed tonight, it still cost twice the budget compared to previous years.
When he was buying apples, the fourth couple passed by him while bending down to pick them. Jiang Jianming was stunned, then looked at the cool and rosy apples in his hand.
Whether it was Ryann or Garcia, the prince’s identity meant that it was difficult for him to accompany himself like an ordinary couple. The opportunity to walk side by side was only in the midst of war. When the battle ended and they returned to their daily lives, they were still more suitable for walking one after the other.
Especially since Garcia had shown his face, perhaps many things would change from now on.
When he came back to his senses, the heavy bag had already made his fingers slightly red. Jiang Jianming shook his head, picked up his things, and left quickly.
Perfection only existed in fairy tales. He knew that there were always many irresistible realities in the world.
And his strength was so weak that resisting even one of them had already exhausted him. So he could only accept it calmly.
****
Carrying several bags of New Year festival goods, Jiang Jianming walked into the Golden Sun Wheel Building, feeling countless eyes on him.
He forced himself to remain calm. After taking a few steps, Zheng Yue rushed up and tried to take the things from his hands.
Jiang Jianming stepped back, “No, my apples.”
“Oh my! Little Excellency, you don’t need to be so uptight about apples!” Zheng Yue happily led the way, “Hurry up, this way, please. Everyone is waiting for you.”
As soon as the office door opened, good heavens, several big shots were gathered together inside.
The indoor windows were bright and tidy, with Chen Hanke holding a cane standing on the side, the Base Chief sitting on the sofa, and the female emperor bonelessly leaning on the chief’s shoulder, cracking melon seeds without any image.
Jiang Jianming calmly walked in with a few bags and said, “Old Marshal, Chief……Your Majesty.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Ge raised her eyebrows dissatisfied and pointed to her nose, “Mingming, how do you address people? According to the order of rank, you should call me first.”
After she finished speaking, she smiled again, her ink-like thick hair reflected a crimson light under the light of her artificial eye. “But forget it, it’s a big holiday. It’s pointless to follow the rules.”
Old Marshal Chen tapped the floor with his cane and said, “The mastermind of the Crystal Cult has been expelled from the Star City, and there are also 30,000 Golden Sun troops stationed in the universe. We can catch him and interrogate him within a few days. Little Excellency, when do you want to come and receive your military rank?”
Jiang Jianming casually put the pile of things on the table and shook his head, “Let’s talk about it later. General Xie’s life and death are uncertain, and I feel guilty joining the Golden Sun Wheel now.”
The chief spoke in her inorganic electronic voice, “Don’t worry, the Crystal Nest is far from Alpha Alien Star, and have to wait for another month.”
“Just now we were curious about another thing,” she continued, “Why don’t the members of the Crystal Cult experience crystal chaos?”
“Oh,” Jiang Jianming raised his black eyes and thought for a moment before answering seriously, “….This much, Chief, I have a somewhat absurd possibility in my mind: these people are all chronic crystal chaos patients.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Jianming felt a chill down his back because the three people in the office all focused their gaze on him at the same time.
But before he could react, in the next second, the three of them quickly and tacitly shifted their gaze away.
Jiang Jianming: “……”
The female emperor put down the melon seeds, clenched her fist against her lips, cleared her throat, and leaned forward, saying, “That’s right, if you have chronic crystal chaos, you won’t have acute crystal chaos again. It makes sense, smart.”
Chief: “Indeed, chronic crystal chaos patients already have crystal particles in their bodies in a chaotic and disordered state. It is much more difficult for chronic chaos to turn into acute chaos than for acute chaos to occur itself.”
Old Marshal Chen immediately exclaimed, “Oh, it seems that these Crystal Cult guys are really a group of paranoid desperados.”
Jiang Jianming: “…”
He began to suspect something belatedly: were these three people colluding and putting on a comedy show for him here?
The Emperor spoke again, “Chief, what is the highest survival record for chronic crystal chaos patients?”
“Twelve years and four months, Your Majesty,” the leader replied.
Old Marshal Chen added, “Those patients must be of crystal human race and were born into a wealthy family. After falling ill, were properly protected in a deep mansion, receiving daily intravenous medication and bed rest. Even the diet was specially formulated by a nutritionist.”
The female emperor smiled, “Oh, what about those non crystal human races?”
Jiang Jianming lowered his head, hearing this. Finally, he couldn’t control the twitching of his mouth and took a deep breath.
“…Your Majesty.”
“Chief.”
“Your Excellency Commander in Chief.”
This time the order was correct. The young man with black hair raised his still pale face, with only a faint sense of helplessness and melancholy on his face.
He raised his index finger to his lips with a bitter smile and whispered, “Why do you have to do this? For the sake of this military merit, let me have a good New Year.”
A needle drop could be heard instantly in the office.
No one smile anymore.
It was more accurate to say that those smiles were like paper that could be torn apart with a poke. The silence at this moment was the naked reality behind it.
Unfortunately, at this moment, someone outside on the street set off firecrackers to celebrate the festival.
This was followed by cheers and laughter, which dissipated ethereally at the just-cleaned glass window.
Through the window, one could see flocks of birds flying in the distance.
That was the sky that had just been ravaged by gunpowder smoke in the early morning, but now it could accommodate crowds of people laughing and migrating birds.
There were so many realities in the world that were difficult to resist.
Jiang Jianming thought so again.
…But his strength was so weak that resisting even one of them had already exhausted him.
Jiang Jianming sighed silently. He calmly picked up the bags filled with New Year festival goods, turned around, and struggled to push the door.
Since he was still alive, he had to move forward on this path. He would use his weak strength to push open the closed doors along the way, until he faced his own end.
Some doors would be light, some heavy, some could be pushed open, and some could not. But if he didn’t reach out, he would have nothing.
Creak…
Jiang Jianming blinked unexpectedly. He hadn’t even exerted any force, and the door opened.
Behind the door, Garcia was standing there.
Jiang Jianming’s mind went blank with a loud explosion.
In fact, even many, many years later, he could not describe Garcia’s expression at this moment in words.
If he had to say it, he saw the light dissipate and everything collapse in those emerald-like eyes, like the end of the world.
But strangely, Jiang Jianming could vividly remember the first thought that came to his mind.
It wasn’t ‘he heard everything’ or ‘he finally knows,’ nor was it ‘I’m done for.’
But just a sentence: so he really is just a child.
Because only a pure and naive child would regard a mere person as their entire world.
A clearly just an insignificant person.
Just a Jiang Jianming.
In the dead silence, Jiang Jianming reached into the shopping bag he was carrying.
“Look, I bought apples,’ he said calmly to Garcia.
“Let’s go back and eat them later. I’ll cook tonight.”
