After hearing this youthful love story, Ryann pondered for a long time before saying, “It’s somewhat different from what I imagined.”
He thought it would be a cliché of “the imperial crown prince falling in love at first sight with a talented commoner military academy student, relentlessly pursuing and finally winning over the other party.”
However, Jiang Jianming said that they initially admired each other and drew closer to each other.
It wasn’t surprising, considering their perspectives, thoughts, and knowledge levels. Among their peers, only they could be each other’s soulmates.
But…
Ryann asked, “What do you like about me?”
“What?” Jiang Jianming was bewildered. Since the incident with Yuan Changze, his bewilderment had been accumulating.
And now, he felt that he had never heard such an absurd question in his life. Did His Highness the Crown Prince, the moonlight of the entire empire, still need to be proven?
“As a partner.” Ryann emphasized, seeming to see his confusion.
“I am indeed the royal heir, but what I can offer my spouse: power, money, fame… these might move ordinary people, but not you.”
“Even if we share common interests and admire each other, we can be monarch and minister, we can be close friends…..but that’s not enough for you to commit your life.”
Ryann’s gaze was intense, “Why choose me?”
Jiang Jianming was moved by his gaze, “…Because you have always treated me with such deep affection.”
This should have been a very touching sentence, but Ryann shook his head and said, “People who are deeply in love are not rare, is there no other reason?”
“This….haa.” Jiang Jianming was both annoyed and amused by his persistence. He thought to himself, love arises unknowingly. The crown prince was an exceptional person, and he had fallen in love with him. Of course, he saw everything about him as good. How could it be explained in a few words?
But His Highness insisted on asking, seemingly stubbornly wanting an answer to ensure his “irreplaceability.”
“Then, because you are the most powerful crystal human.”
Jiang Jianming shook his head and laughed as he walked towards the door. As he passed by, he patted Ryann’s wrist.
His fingertips intentionally or unintentionally brushed against the crystal bone. Jiang Jianming turned his gaze, deep and profound, “I was born weak, of course I would admire the strong. Even if I wanted to go through fire and water, Your Highness would accompany me, right?”
Ryann was indeed satisfied. The Crown Prince showed a pleased expression, “Of course.”
The two returned to the bedroom of the palace. Ryann walked two steps ahead and turned on all the lights for him.
Jiang Jianming watched his back, thinking: Could it be that I was too indifferent, not passionate enough, to make His Highness ask such a question?
In this relationship, he was never the one who gave more.
Thinking of this, Jiang Jianming felt a sudden twinge in his heart and blurted out, “Your Highness, I…”
“What?” Ryann turned to look at him, but Jiang Jianming was taken aback and rarely at a loss for words.
“I…”
He wanted to say, I truly love you.
But when the words reached his lips, he felt that such a sentimental plea was not worthy of being presented to the prince.
His humble and disabled life was not suitable for talking about love.
So in the end, this black-haired and pale young man could only suppress his surging emotions and replace them with a calm tone:
“I will always be with you, until the end of life, or until you no longer need me.”
Ryann’s brows relaxed, he walked back and wrapped his arms around the frail body of the disabled human.
“So,” Ryann leaned down and pressed his forehead against Jiang Jianming’s, asking softly, “Is this what you wanted to tell me on the starship that day?”
“On the starship?” Jiang Jianming frowned, “No…I don’t know, I don’t remember.”
The conversation was interrupted here because the Crown Prince’s wrist device rang. It was a communication message from the military department.
Ryann glanced down and said, “The Silver Big Dipper’s expedition fleet has new information. We’ll go to the military department tomorrow.”
“Go to bed early.”
****
The next day, it rained.
When the two arrived at the military headquarters, the sky outside was already overcast, and the rain was pattering against the windows, somewhat ominous.
The moment he saw Xie Yuduo in the projection, Jiang Jianming’s heart sank first.
Xie Yuduo looked too haggard. In theory, since it was a report, his demeanor should be upright. But the Major General’s face was pale, his eyes were dark, and his eyes and voice were filled with a strong sense of fatigue.
[…The situation is not optimistic. The fleet arrived at the outer region of the Crystal Nest on the 13th. Here we can observe the Crystal Nest with the naked eye. From a distance, it looks like a crystal ball, colorless and transparent, just like the texture of real crystal ore….There are rings around it, and the floating debris and ice in this region also have crystal condensation…]
[But the state of the fleet began to deteriorate. First of all, the concentration of crystal particles here is extremely high, even with full military alert, there were a dozen cases of acute crystal disorder; what surprised us even more was that the soldiers began to show signs of confusion and disorientation.]
[Even I,] Xie Yudu paused, [fell into a state of confusion where I couldn’t command normally. It took a long time after the fleet withdrew from the outer region of the Crystal Nest to gradually regain my senses.]
“—Xie Yuduo still doesn’t know the secret of the crystal particles.”
Seeing this, Ryann crossed his arms and sneered, casting a meaningful glance at the old Marshal Chen.
“The Empire is keeping Silver Big Dipper in the dark enough, Xie Yuduo is loyal to the Empire, can you bear to watch him run into the Crystal Nest without knowing anything?”
The rain outside the window was continuous. Old Marshal Chen half-closed his eyes, his palms crossed in front of him, leaning on his black cane, and said nothing.
Xie Yuduo’s projection was still speaking, [As of the day of the report, the number of casualties in the fleet is…I judge that it is difficult to continue advancing… Next, the fleet will obey orders, return along the route we came, and return to the Silver Big Dipper’s first fortress in the Alpha Alien Star.]
Jiang Jianming gave Ryann a look, the issue of concealment was no longer relevant now.
He asked the old marshal, “The mental disorder phenomenon that occurred within the Silver Big Dipper fleet, was it due to the interference of crystal particle consciousness, right?”
Old Marshal Chen stopped the projection video and nodded, “Hmm, we can tentatively determine that.”
Jiang Jianming pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What about disabled humans?”
“According to the Crystal Cult, disabled humans should be humans who have not been fully implanted with crystal particles…Old Marshal, has there been a precedent for disabled humans going to the Crystal Nest?”
Ryann turned his head sharply to look at him, while Old Marshal Chen chuckled lightly, his eyes full of unpredictable emotions, and shook his head, “The idea that the Crown Princess mentioned is very interesting, but unfortunately, there is no precedent.”
Jiang Jianming’s face changed slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Old Marshal Chen raised his hand and raised his white eyebrows, “Hey, don’t disbelieve. In fact, the information held by the Empire’s high-level officials is really not as much as you think, these years, we have been exploring in the dark step by step.”
Saying this, the old man with white hair and beard sighed.
“We have kept you waiting for a while. But please believe that we are not delaying meaninglessly.”
This sigh seemed to contain too many emotions. But the next moment, the old man raised his face, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.
“The guests from the Autonomous Dominion have arrived, the Empire has also opened the first interstellar route to the Crystal Nest, the Silver Big Dipper fleet has arrived at the Crystal Nest, many speculations have been confirmed…”
Thump! The black cane suddenly knocked on the ground. Old Marshal Chen raised his head and said, “Now the time has come. If you have any doubts, please feel free to ask.”
There seemed to be rolling thunder in the distance, and in the spacious commander’s office, both Ryann and Jiang Jianming were simultaneously shocked.
They both realized.
The moment of true openness and honesty was coming.
A few seconds later, Jiang Jianming said in a deep voice, “About the secret of the crystal particles…when did the Empire first realize this truth?”
Old Marshal Chen looked at him deeply, “You’ve guessed it, haven’t you.”
Jiang Jianming’s pupils contracted, he gently said, “Is it really…”
“Is it really the Fourth Holy War?”
“Stop, teacher.” Ryann raised his eyebrows and tapped the corner of the table, “You’ve been playing mysterious for so long, and now you still want us to ask one by one?”
Old Marshal Chen pointed to the sofa with a smile, “Then I’ll start from the beginning, please sit down.”
“It’s a long story, but actually, a long time ago, the old Empire had mastered this secret…”
“But like us, because of the seriousness of the situation, the tyrant Odin chose to block the news and only conducted related research in a secret research base.”
“Oh, the name of that research base is the Grey Owl Laboratory, which is also the predecessor of the current Black Shark Base.”
Outside the window, a bright purple lightning flashed.
Boom!
After the second thunder, the rain poured down.
****
At the other end of the universe, Omega Alien Star, Black Shark Base.
The cold mechanical automatic door opened to both sides, and the beam of light outside illuminated the mysterious depths.
Suddenly, a girl’s terrified scream pierced the silence. Diana Lance, standing at the door, recoiled as if struck by lightning!
She stared at the scene in front of her with eyes full of extreme fear, shivering, her teeth constantly chattering.
Just behind the door, countless precision instruments emitted a blue light. Rows and rows of horizontally placed biological cultivation tanks lay there quietly, cold, inorganic, like a large number of coffins.
Each cultivation tank’s glass wall reflected the light points emitted by the instruments, and inside slept a person – at least from the outside, it looked like a human body.
They and they all looked like teenagers of eighteen or nineteen, their eyes closed, soaking in an unknown liquid, their naked bodies connected to soft tubes.
“Oh my God…Oh my God!!”
Diana kept shaking her head, wanting to retreat in fear.
The rumors that the Black Shark Base was conducting taboo human experiments…were true!?
With a dull thud, she bumped into another person behind her.
“Don’t be afraid.”
A cold electronic voice sounded, “Child, this is something you will inevitably see.”
“Chie…”
Diana turned her head back trembling, “Chief…”
The person who had silently led her here, who was also the leader of the Black Shark Base, now turned around and closed the door.
The horrifying “human experiment field” became a closed space. Diana sprang up like electrocuted, pressing tightly against the corner of the wall, gritting her teeth and glaring at the leader, “Who…who are you, what…what is the Black Shark Base…”
The next moment, Diana’s eyes widened.
Because the chief suddenly raised both hands and took off the mask on his head.
“Ask me…who I am…”
An elderly female voice replaced the electronic sound, “It’s been a long time since anyone asked that question.”
A few strands of silver hair fell, and the old woman under the mask had eyes as blue as the sea, melancholic yet calm, gentle yet firm.
“In the years much earlier than a long time ago,” she sighed lightly, holding the cold, black iron mask, “I had many identities.”
“I am the granddaughter of Vladimir, the head of the Grey Owl Laboratory of the old Empire.”
“I am the sixth daughter of Joshua Song, the second chairman and chief executive of the White Dove Red Leaf Society.”
Diana held her breath in shock.
She timidly said, “You…you are…no…impossible…”
“I am the first queen of the new Empire, the nominal spouse of the founding emperor Kaios, and the current Empress Dowager of the Empire…I am Sylph Song.”
Sylph’s expression was calm, she extended her arm, the hand wrapped in black armor, calmly landed on the head of the shivering girl.
That silver short hair that had just been cut short due to the loss of her sister.
“But now, my only two identities are a researcher at the Black Shark Base, and the highest guide of this base.”
Silf slowly said, “From this moment on, I am your chief.”
“Diana Lance, your talent and intelligence have been judged to have enough value. I want you to obey the base’s orders and join us in this…”
“Human anti-invasion war that has been going on for more than five hundred years.”
