Feng Zhao’s shift ended half an hour earlier than Li Yixing’s.
The broken furniture in the apartment had already been replaced by the two smart robots, and the holes punched into the walls had been freshly painted white. Feng Zhao stripped off his uniform and threw it into the washing machine, then turned to instruct 587 and Qiongqi to prepare dinner for two.
587’s mechanical ocular lens rotated twice before honestly replying to Feng Zhao: “General Feng, preparing a portion for one is sufficient. Master does not have the habit of eating freshly prepared, hot food.”
Feng Zhao: “…?”
“…Then what does he eat?” Feng Zhao could not quite wrap his head around it for a moment. “Leftovers? Does Li Yixing have such an eccentric preference?”
“No…” 587 explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “Master uses injectable nutritional supplements.”
Feng Zhao: “…What?”
Injectable nutrients were generally used for military supplies during wartime or in medical scenarios. Feng Zhao himself had been stationed at the Great Wall Fortress for many years and would use them to get by when he did not have time to eat. However, he had never seen anyone treat them as a literal replacement for meals.
Li Yixing lived on Nüwa; he clearly was not a frontline soldier who could not spare time to eat.
Feng Zhao recalled them throwing punches at each other the previous night. After the fight, Li Yixing had rushed into the bathroom. According to his home-assistant robot, he did not eat solid food, only used supplements.
So he was actually throwing up last night? Feng Zhao wondered if he was incapable of eating normally.
“When did this condition start?” Feng Zhao asked. “Has it been going on for a long time?”
“About three years,” 587 replied. “Since I first came to serve Master, he has almost exclusively used injectable supplements to maintain his physiological functions.”
Three years… Feng Zhao’s heart skipped a beat. In a flash of insight, he recalled that Li Yixing had once been arrested and detained by the Empire for over a month. Perhaps this condition was a lingering aftereffect from that time.
The Empire’s interrogation methods were notoriously cruel; it was highly probable that Li Yixing had developed an eating disorder as a result.
However, if one went on indefinitely without eating, the digestive tract would atrophy, leading to severe health consequences, such as being permanently unable to digest regular food again.
Feng Zhao pondered for a long while before finally saying, “Then just prepare a portion for one.”
“But you should try to persuade him to eat later, starting with some liquids,” Feng Zhao sighed. “Maybe he can gradually change the situation.”
587: “General Feng, I have tried to persuade him, but Master has always been willful. He does not listen to artificial intelligence.”
Feng Zhao: “…”
He could hear the sense of grievance, helplessness, and accusation in the AI’s electronic voice. How could Li Yixing provoke an AI to the point where it sounded like a scorned woman?
“Fine, then do as he wishes, 587,” Feng Zhao deliberated for a moment. “Do you have the authorization to delete this conversation?”
They were only a marriage-of-convenience couple, so naturally, they did not have high-level permissions over the other’s smart home system, only basic functional access, such as ordering the robot to clean the living room or cook.
587 remained honest: “No, General Feng. I cannot autonomously delete the contents of my conversations with humans or other AIs. Only Master has the authorization to trigger deletions.”
“…” Feng Zhao grabbed his hair. “Forget it.”
Even if he knew these messy details, so what? Li Yixing could not kill him over it.
As for the supplements and Li Yixing’s physical issues, this was the lifestyle Li Yixing had chosen; it was not a problem for Feng Zhao to concern himself with. Offering a suggestion to the AI was already his limit. After all, outside of their marriage contract, they were not even friends. Feng Zhao could not control Li Yixing, and naturally, there was no need to.
Even if Li Yixing were to cheat on him now, Feng Zhao would not care.
Of course, Minister Li was a responsible man. Even though this was just a political marriage, he would not go against public order and good morals by cuckolding Feng Zhao.
The home-assistant robot went to cook, and the temperature and humidity of the space were adjusted to a comfortable level. Feng Zhao set the schedule for his return trip, booked his starship ticket, and listed the luggage he needed to pack.
Just as he finished, the door chimed and opened. Li Yixing entered without glancing to the side, treating Feng Zhao as if he were a puff of air.
Feng Zhao did not care about Li Yixing’s dismissal. He got up boldly, walked to the dining table, and ate the dinner that had just been served.
Li Yixing, amidst the sound of the news broadcast, pulled a supplement from the cabinet. To Feng Zhao’s surprise, Li Yixing made no effort to avoid him, simply injecting the supplement into his body as usual.
Feng Zhao took a sip of water. He thought to himself that it made sense; Li Yixing had no reason to avoid him. This man, who had been at odds with him for years, had never cared about what others thought.
With dinner finished, the two had nothing to say; who would have conversational topics with their arch-nemesis? Besides, there were no pesky media outlets in the house liking to stir up trouble, so both got up, unwilling to spare each other even a glance, and turned to enter their respective bedrooms.
Although the two were like fire and water and hated the sight of each other, as Feng Zhao’s spouse, Li Yixing still had to see him off on the day Feng Zhao departed for the Fifth Galaxy Great Wall Fortress.
The terminal was filled with tourists on interstellar travels, many of whom were intimate couples. Feng Zhao dragged his luggage toward the security checkpoint, with Li Yixing, Feng Zhao’s brother Feng Zhiyu, and his father Fang Shengwan following behind. Feng Tingsong did not appear due to his busy schedule.
Fang Shengwan looked at the couples nearby and remarked intentionally or not: “Speaking of which, Yixing and Zhao have not even had a honeymoon yet.”
“When Yixing is free, you should go to the Great Wall Fortress to see Zhao more often,” Fang Shengwan continued. “Spouses should spend more time together to foster their relationship.”
Feng Zhao: “…”
Li Yixing: “…”
Out of politeness, Li Yixing took a deep breath and replied: “Alright. If I have time, I will apply for entry to the Great Wall Fortress to visit Feng Zhao.”
Fang Shengwan smiled with satisfaction, but the corners of Feng Zhiyu’s mouth flattened. His eyes lingered on Li Yixing with an ambiguous expression before quickly moving away.
Before the security check, Li Yixing and Feng Zhao, wary of nearby media reporters, pinched their noses and hugged each other.
Feng Zhao unleashed his indomitable spirit of being a nuisance again, wanting to disgust Li Yixing one last time before leaving.
He leaned toward Li Yixing, his handsome, deep-set face revealing a suggestive smile. His tone was infuriatingly grating: “Yixing, remember to come to the Great Wall Fortress to see your husband.”
“When you are alone at home, remember to eat well and sleep well. Do not let your partner worry…”
Li Yixing expressionlessly ground his military boot into Feng Zhao’s instep once more. Feng Zhao gasped, the word “heart” forced back down his throat. Then, the two smiled at each other with feigned affection, simultaneously opening their arms for a superficial embrace.
In that brief moment of closeness, Feng Zhao again smelled that scent, pine needles or lilies, on Li Yixing, but the hug was too shallow for him to be certain before they pulled apart.
He walked into the security checkpoint and disappeared from Li Yixing’s sight.
Once the send-off ceremony was finally over, Li Yixing rushed to the Security Department; his work was demanding, and he had to be at his post as soon as possible.
On the other side, after over a hundred jumps, the starship arrived at the Great Wall Fortress. By then, seventy-two hours had passed since Feng Zhao left Nüwa.
The Great Wall Fortress was located in the Alliance’s Fifth Galaxy, suspended in space on the periphery. It consisted of thousands of space stations equipped with the most precise anti-missile systems, deploying nearly 500,000 combat mechs, thousands of large-scale combat starships, and countless missiles.
This was the Alliance’s first line of defense.
Upon stepping onto the space station, Feng Zhao went straight to the war room.
“General Alina! Sixth Squadron of the Gladius Legion, Feng Zhao, reporting for duty!” After speaking, Feng Zhao performed a standard military salute to General Alina.
Inside the war room, General Alina wore a deep blue military uniform and a service cap. She waved for Feng Zhao to enter: “It is good to have you back.”
“Happy marriage,” General Alina did not forget to offer her blessings. “The Oga Empire’s raids on the Great Wall Fortress have been increasing lately. As Deputy Commander of the Sixth Squadron, you should be at your post; that is why I had to summon you back just three days into your marriage.”
Feng Zhao expressed his understanding: “This is my responsibility and duty.”
As soon as he finished, the war room’s communication channel rang, and General Alina answered quickly.
“Report, General Alina. Half an hour ago, during a routine patrol of the Great Wall Fortress, we encountered a small detachment from the Oga Empire harassing the Zhurong ship,” the captain of the Zhurong said over the comms. “We counter-attacked, but they seemed to have no intention of engaging in battle and dispersed quickly.”
“We captured one Oga Empire S-Aoxue unit, but the pilot committed suicide by swallowing a bullet.”
Recently, such raids happened over thirty times a day.
However, the Oga Empire only harassed them and had yet to launch any large-scale combat operations. This nervous, hit-and-run behavior hung over the Great Wall Fortress like a dark cloud, keeping everyone from the top down on high alert.
“Our Sixth Squadron is responsible for Area A of the Great Wall Fortress. This is the weakest point of our defense, and it often faces cosmic storms,” General Alina said. “We have also predicted a relatively large cosmic storm passing through the Great Wall Fortress, so we must be vigilant of the Oga Empire’s actions.”
“Understood, General Alina,” Feng Zhao replied.
At the end of April, New Era 331, a massive cosmic storm swept through the Great Wall Fortress. Shortly after, the Oga Empire brazenly launched a full-scale assault on the Great Wall Fortress!
This was the fifth large-scale combat operation between the Oga Empire and the Alliance. In the Alliance’s New Era chronicles, this campaign lasted for three full months, blowing up hundreds of starships. The twelve zones of the Great Wall Fortress were captured one after another, only to be reclaimed.
When the war reached its midpoint, a heavy rain fell on the Yas district of Nüwa.
This was of no real importance. The climate of Nüwa was very pleasant; the sunshine and rain were almost entirely artificial. A heavy rain was likely the work of the Weather Management Bureau.
Raindrops pattered against the curtains, and Li Yixing jolted awake from a dream, covered in cold sweat.
He got out of bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor.
587 sensed that its master was awake and quickly brought a glass of warm water. Li Yixing took a sip, feeling his mind clear slightly. His peripheral vision caught the sight of that ring on the nightstand, which he found incredibly tacky, flickering with a faint light.
Then, his wrist-device rang; the communication channel was vibrating frantically.
Li Yixing answered the call quickly.
A tired female voice came through the channel: “Hello, is this Mr. Li Yixing?”
The gravity in her voice made Li Yixing instinctively stand up straight: “I am.”
“I am General Alina, Commander-in-Chief of the Sixth Squadron of the Gladius Legion at the Great Wall Fortress,” the voice on the other side was hoarse. “I am very sorry to have to tell you the unfortunate news: Feng Zhao sacrificed himself during a major interception battle tonight.”
“What?” Li Yixing froze for a moment.
“The command ship he was on, the Fuxi, was destroyed by six high-energy particle cannons during the interception. He was unable to escape.”
Outside the window, the rain pattered incessantly.
On June 23, New Era 331, the Oga Empire sent nearly 30,000 reinforcements to the front lines of the Great Wall Fortress. To buy time and cover frontal combat operations, Feng Zhao was ordered to lead 5,000 soldiers to intercept the reinforcements, during which he tragically sacrificed himself.