After the starship from Black Shark Base arrived at the First Fortress, Sylph said nothing else and went to find Ryann first.
Today, the Crown Prince was not working in the deceased’s room.
Perhaps forced to admit that he was indeed showing signs of losing control, Ryann no longer dared to stay in places with traces of Jiang Jianming.
He had commandeered the fortress’s main command center and forbade others from entering without permission. The air pressure around him was even more gloomy; even Xie Yuduo didn’t dare speak to him.
So the chief came alone. She walked through the automatic door, and her first words were, “Please take me to see the body.”
Ryann didn’t even look at her. “I don’t know where it is, go ask Xie Yuduo.”
Chief: “You need to come too.”
Ryann: “Busy, no time.”
The air froze briefly.
The chief walked towards the Crown Prince.
Ryann suddenly turned his face, like a wild animal wary of a natural predator — his face was actually pale, his eyes flashing with an icy light.
Three days. It had been three days since Jiang Jianming’s death.
He didn’t think about it, didn’t look at it. He seemed to calmly accept this fact, yet dared not truly face the implications behind it.
A layer of mist separated him from this world, as if the so-called death was just two light words, just a few sobs around him.
But such self-deception was reaching its limit. Jiang Jianming was gone, nowhere could he find even a trace of that person’s presence, and this world without his lover was tormenting him constantly.
During the day, his senses were numb. At night, he would lose control and search everywhere for traces of his lover’s presence, not even knowing what he was doing, as pathetic as an addict going through withdrawal.
By now, his mental state was teetering on the edge of self-destruction.
Chief: “What was the cause of his death?”
“…”
The gloom in Ryann’s eyes deepened. “I don’t have the body analysis report.”
“There is no report. I instructed Major General Xie not to let others touch the body. I’m asking you now, Kaios.”
“…”
“Your Highness, don’t you know?”
In the empty command center, the two faced off, one sitting and one standing.
The chief spoke to Ryann in an emotionless electronic voice. “Back then, the Little Excellency set out on this path to investigate the cause of your death, even at the cost of burning up the rest of his life. And now, you don’t even know how he passed away, and you don’t care?”
“—Shut up!!”
Ryann stood up abruptly, his eyes reddening as he shouted — like a sharp blade stabbing into a sore spot, these words easily enraged him.
“Who says…” With a clang, he kicked away the chair with his toe and stepped towards the chief.
The Crown Prince stood much taller than the chief, and when his eyes burned with an obsessive bloodshot look, he was like a scarred male lion, “What right do you have to say I don’t know…!”
“Jiang died due to chronic crystal disorder, and prolonged exposure to a high concentration of crystal particles environment, coupled with untimely treatment led to…”
Chief: “Acute attack leading to death?”
Ryann’s lips suddenly tensed.
— No, his heart trembled, only now coming to his senses.
Everyone knew the horrifying appearance of a crystal disorder attack. If he had died from crystal disorder, how could the body be so clean!?
Ryann’s expression changed several times.
Jiang Jianming had not died due to crystal particles.
No, of course he hadn’t!
At that time, Jiang had ordered the entire army to resist crystal disorder even at the cost of their lives. How could he have allowed himself to be an exception?
The chief reached out and patted the Crown Prince’s shoulder, then said, “Little Highness, Kaios, please come to your senses and think carefully.”
Cause of death…
These words were like poison, making his heart contract painfully again. Ryann dodged the chief’s arm, enduring this grief that could kill as he searched through his memories.
The snow-covered medical mecha, the dangling slender wrist, the desolate memorial, the young officer quietly sleeping in the pilot’s seat, the pale dawn light.
The cause of death was… was…
“Perhaps it was…excessive blood loss from injuries…or organ failure, the chronic crystal disorder had already weakened him…it could also be freezing to death…or an overdose of expired medication…”
As Ryann spoke, his face grew increasingly grim. He knew disabled humans were fragile and prone to death, but only as he spoke did he realize how many lethal factors had piled up on Jiang Jianming.
And he truly didn’t know how Jiang Jianming had died.
“…Or sudden death.”
Ryann paused, trying to regain his composure, “Xie Yuduo said he activated the Crown of Golden Dawn, it’s very likely his brain couldn’t withstand the burden of the mental connection.”
The chief sighed softly. “Before you went to your death back then, didn’t your original self tell you about the Little Excellency’s identity?”
Ryann: “…No.”
At that time, everything happened hastily, his original consciousness forcefully occupied his body, left a few lines of messages on the wrist device and then dissipated, leaving him awake and shocked, his mind blank.
There was too much to explain, impossible to cover everything.
Therefore, most of the message was about conveying the truth about crystal particles, revealing his past life as the founding emperor and his current life as a base body… and urging him to sacrifice himself for Jiang.
As for more, it really hadn’t mentioned much.
Perhaps the merged consciousness was confident enough, believing that since it was for Jiang Jianming, he would willingly be persuaded, so there was no need to waste precious time on this.
Chief: “The one known as the founding military god, Commander Dawn Aslan, his original name was Jiang Jianming.”
“In that chaotic era, for various reasons… he couldn’t even make his real name public, nor could he reveal his identity as a disabled human.”
“Xie Yuduo told me that the Little Excellency activated the Crown of Golden Dawn, right? He must have activated the first cockpit. Actually, Golden Dawn was originally his mecha, the one you gave him back then.”
“It’s the same with the intelligence Seth Henry. It claims to be a product of Black Shark Base, but originally it was… Anyway, there was a reason that little dog desperately clung to the Little Excellency back then.”
Ryann was stunned, a helpless expression gradually creeping over his handsome face.
“As… Aslan, it was him!?”
He had guessed that perhaps he and Jiang had a past connection, but to think…
Jiang’s past life was the founding commander. The commander was a disabled human, and with the great emperor…
No, no, no, those things weren’t important. Ryann suddenly suppressed the trembling in his throat. “Then can he… is his original self at the base, can he once again…!?”
The chief mercilessly gave a swift denial. “That’s not possible.”
“The commander’s original body is even more sickly than this current shell, another consciousness projection would be very difficult, almost impossible… He might not even be able to withstand the mental shock at the moment of the base body’s death.”
As she spoke, she turned to leave. Ryann suddenly gripped her arm, his hand clamping down like an iron vise, and angrily said, “Where are you going!?”
“To see the body, of course,” the chief said. “The Little Excellency is Commander Aslan, connecting to the Crown of Golden Dawn wouldn’t cause mental strain, at least not enough to be fatal.”
“So, what is the real cause of death? In other words, has that base body — truly died?”
These words hit Ryann like a heavy hammer, making his vision darken and his blood surge.
At the same time, he felt his hair stand on end. It was as if a gun was pressed against his temple, or a bayonet was grazing his neck, his instincts screaming danger.
Yes, he knew, if fate were to grant a hope next, and then shatter that hope—
He knew he would have no strength to resist. He would break immediately, perhaps irreparably.
“What are you saying…” In a corner of the command center, the Crown Prince, using his grip as leverage, gradually pressed the chief against the cold wall of the room, and said hoarsely, “Jiang has already…”
Ryann’s breathing was heavy, a wild storm brewing in his eyes as he said fiercely. “Jiang Jianming has been confirmed dead, what exactly are you here to do, what do you want to see in the body!?”
The chief tilted her head slightly upwards. She remained as calm as a still lake or a silent mountain, unafraid of the raging beast before her.
“…Back then, before I entrusted the Little Excellency to Jiang Sheng to raise, I extracted a small amount of crystal particles from him to monitor the base body.”
“Naturally, this only allows us to monitor a very small amount of data. What we can see is the state of mental consciousness and the presence or absence of life.”
“Three days ago, the base body monitoring showed that the vital signs of base body 001 had disappeared, but strangely, the consciousness link between the original body and the base body hadn’t been severed, and the base body consciousness hadn’t returned to the original body.”
“I guessed it might be this situation, so I hurried here to take a look.”
Ryann could no longer speak.
It took him a long time to produce a sound. “What situation.”
Chief: “He indeed no longer has the strength to sustain his own life, but someone refuses to let him go, that person has grabbed hold of him.”
Ryann suddenly closed his eyes, his lips beginning to tremble as he shook his head neurotically. “Impos… impossible… but he has already… no breathing or heartbeat… I waited, waited for a long time, nothing…”
The chief sighed again. Her finger, clad in black armor, hovered over Ryann’s brow, her electronic voice seeming to soften.
“Your Highness, you are a special existence, possessing power beyond the normal human scope.”
“And you once gave your life for him, vowing to clear the path for the rest of his life, to let him reach the Crystal Nest. So it couldn’t have been as simple as just forging a weapon.”
“Please think carefully, that ring you put on him with your life, has he been wearing it close to his body all this time?”
“He was wearing it… No,” Ryann said dazedly, “I don’t know… I didn’t witness his death with my own eyes.”
Chief: “The mecha the Little Excellency was in at the end, was the internal monitoring turned on?”
Ryann breathed heavily and low, remaining silent for a few seconds before moving his lips, revealing his cold white canine teeth. The air was taut to the extreme.
Everything seemed to be on the verge of the Crown Prince either saying something or tearing apart the chief before him like a true beast—
But it didn’t happen. Those green eyes swirling with storms suddenly lost their focus and luster, becoming hazy and unfocused.
His tensed muscular body also went limp without warning. He closed his eyes and fell forward powerlessly—
“Kaios!?”
The chief quickly caught his body, stumbling back a step under the weight.
The Crown Prince lay motionless, eyes closed, his long hair messily covering his pale face…he had actually fainted directly.
****
When the chief carried the unconscious Crown Prince out, Xie Yuduo, who had been anxiously waiting outside, was nearly scared to death.
And once His Highness Ryann fainted, he slept for a full day and night.
When he regained consciousness, the Crown Prince found himself lying in a private ward in the fortress’s medical area, with an IV needle in the back of his hand.
Chief Sylph, who had removed her mask, and Major General Xie Yuduo were both at his side.
Seeing him open his eyes, Xie Yuduo immediately showed a delighted expression, tucking in his blanket and saying softly, “Little Highness is finally awake! How do you feel, is there anywhere that still hurts?”
Lying in the hospital bed, His Highness Ryann was still very confused, “I… how…”
“How what?” Sylph laughed angrily, patting the treatment cabin, “You didn’t eat a single bite for nearly four days and starved yourself unconscious. The medics had to give you nutrient injections for a whole day before you woke up. Does Your Highness think fasting is glorious?”
Ryann: “.”
Sylph: “Hmm?”
Ryann turned his eyes away, saying resentfully. “It wasn’t on purpose, I just forgot.”
He had been trying hard to maintain a normal appearance, listing out one, two, three, four things to do in his mind, but forgot the most basic thing… that people need to eat.
And under the immense grief, his body had also lost its sense of hunger, until he fainted today.
Normally, fainting from hunger would be enough to make the Crown Prince too embarrassed to face anyone.
But at this moment, Ryann’s eyes flickered as he looked up at the chief, urgently asking, “About Jiang—”
Sylph: “Oh, about the monitoring, I’ve seen it.”
