The moment the flames hit, Luo Ran could feel Rong An rushing to block him, and he subconsciously deployed his spiritual power.

A small number of high-level Alphas and Omegas could turn their significant spiritual power into something physical in some instances, such as Lucas’s blade attack before.

A transparent layer of light appeared next to Luo Ran. It all happened so suddenly. It was the first time Luo Ran knew that he could do such a thing, his potential being drawn out by the critical situation.

It turned out that it wasn’t just Lucas. He could do it too.

Boom—

Luo Ran could feel the fire breaking through his barrier. It dealt a severe blow to his spiritual realm, and he eventually passed out.

. . . . . . . 

Boom—

The last wave of artillery fire was shot from the kaleidoscope array, ending the assault that had lasted for half a day.

The Empire ushered in its first victory.

Although Huntsman escaped, the vitality of the star pirates was dealt a heavy blow, and they were caught off guard. In the next battle, the star pirates suffered a great loss, and they could only rely on Meteor Showers most of the time.

Lucas didn’t know if the star pirates still had Meteor Showers left, but even if there were, it would only be one shot. After all, it took a huge amount of money and materials to make one.

At present, Freeman was cleaning up the battlefield while Lucas stood on deck and read the report from the reinforcements.

Luo Ran and the others had already set off to join him.

The undercover agent Wang Ruicheng had been successfully lured out and died in the explosion, and the First Prince was successfully hooked and arrested.

Lucas clutched the terminal tightly as he read the report.

He didn’t expect that the First Prince would be so……extreme.

He knew that the First Prince liked Luo Ran, but didn’t expect it to be to this extent……after all, everyone thought that the First Prince’s fondness for Luo Ran was mostly about benefits.

But the first time the First Prince showed his flaws was because of Luo Ran.

And his final downfall was because of Luo Ran.

In the end, he finally lost his life because he wanted to pull Luo Ran to die in the name of love. He could have fought again.

Lucas took a deep breath and waited for the second report. His eyes were locked firmly on the fist one, which said: “Explosion occurred. Survival of Commander Luo and Adjutant Rong uncertain.”

When Freeman came, he saw Lucas’s extremely bad complexion and shaking fingers.

“Admiral……?”

“I’m fine.” Lucas said coldly: “Speak.”

“We discovered the energy transmission of the giant insect nearby! Do you want to track it?”

“Yes.” Lucas said: “Have a team track it.”

. . . . . . . .

When he woke up again, Luo Ran found himself lying in an infirmary bed on a battleship.

His entire body hurt when he moved, from head to toe. The most serious area was his back, where his bandage-wrapped wounds were still burning hot.

Luo Ran lowered his head and saw bandages on his limbs.

“Commander Luo is awake…..!”

“Commander Luo, don’t worry, your injuries aren’t serious.”

What was more serious was Luo Ran’s spiritual wound, but only Xia Zhi knew about this. Luo Ran had already been injected with medicine, and the rest could only be slowly healed by Lucas or himself.

Luo Ran supported himself on the bed and sat up. He found that there were several doctors around his bed, elites under Xia Zhi’s command.

Luo Ran’s heart was empty.

Logically speaking, with his identity and his precarious spiritual state, Xia Zhi would definitely guard him.

Now that Xia Zhi wasn’t here, it turned out that Rong An might have……

“Where is Adjutant Rong?” Luo Ran asked in a deep voice. “Where is he?”

“This……”

“Speak.” Luo Ran took a deep breath and said with a long face: “Be honest.”

A doctor immediately said: “Commander Luo, don’t worry, the worst scenario hasn’t happened yet. Right now, Dr. Xia and several seniors are trying their best to save him.”

Luo Ran rubbed his temples and asked: “How long have I been out?”

“Half a day.”

Such a long time, and he still hadn’t been saved……

Although it wasn’t the worst situation, it still wasn’t good.

Luo Ran pressed his forehead. As soon as his mood surged, he started to have a stabbing headache — his spiritual power was injured again.

But now was not the time to care about such a thing. Luo Ran pulled out the needle from his arm and got out of bed.

“Where is Adjutant Rong?”

. . . . . . . .

In the battleship’s emergency room.

As soon as Luo Ran arrived, he saw his brother Luo Xingyuan standing to the side, facing the wall.

He had his hands braced on the wall, with his forehead leaning on his hands. His expression couldn’t be seen clearly with his back turned.

Luo Ran stood next to him. He paused, and said in a low voice: “I’m sorry.”

After a long moment, Luo Xingyuan said hoarsely: “He did the right thing.”

“In public, you are the most important person on this battleship. In private, you are my little brother.”

Luo Ran knew that there was nothing he could say right then, so he could only stand to the side and wait with Luo Xingyuan.

Wang Qiuyang came to look for the two of them. Not many people survived after the explosion on the battleship, and the remaining mercenaries and star pirates had also been recovered by Wang Qiuyang.

Luo Ran and Rong An were transferred to the emergency room of the main battleship for treatment, while the First Prince……he was still breathing when Wang Qiuyang and the others found him, but he committed suicide after being carried back.

Wang Qiuyang bowed his head and said: “He also asked me to bring you a message. He said they were his last words.”

“What?” Luo Ran frowned slightly.

Wang Qiuyang: “He said, ‘To Secretary Luo, I am sincere.’”

Even from that first encounter in the back garden.

Luo Ran paused, then said: “Understood. Preserve the body well. I will entrust the team to transport it back to the capital and hand it over to the Second Prince.”

“Yes!”

Wang Qiuyang glanced at the red light of the emergency room, and said in a low voice: “Adjutant Rong……”

“He will be alright.” Luo Ran glanced at Luo Xingyuan and said: “He’ll be fine.”

“Yes,” Wang Qiuyang said with red eyes, gritting his teeth. “Wang Ruicheng died on the battleship because he was closest to the door. His body is all in pieces……as it should be!”

“I taught him well since he was a child, how could he……I didn’t expect this from him!”

Wang Qiuyang stepped forward and gave a big military salute to Luo Xingyuan.

“I have shamed the military, I have shamed the Admiral, and I have shamed Commander Luo!”

“It’s fine, no one needs to blame themselves for this.” Luo Xingyuan still had his back turned to them. Wang Qiuyang didn’t know if he was crying, but Luo Xingyuan’s shoulders were shaking slightly.

Ding-dong.

After an unknown amount of time, the door of the emergency room was pushed open at last, and Xia Zhi came out in a surgery gown.

“He’s okay,” Xia Zhi said through the mask. “Adjutant Rong is alive.”

Luo Ran saw Luo Xingyuan’s body lose its strength, and he slid down the wall, falling to his knees.

Luo Ran keenly grasped Xia Zhi’s words.

“You saved his life, but what about…..?”

Xia Zhi hesitated, then said: “Let’s put it this way, it was a miracle to survive an explosion of that scale, thanks to you, Commander Luo…..”

After thinking about it, he realized that Luo Ran’s identity as an Omega had not been made public, so he said: “It is thanks to the fact that Commander Luo found cover and in turn protected Adjutant Rong, otherwise he would have lost his life.”

The explosion had originated from within, and they were in the reception room, which was the central location.

If Luo Ran hadn’t succeeded in breaking through his potential, then Rong An would have died, and Luo Ran would have been seriously injured and unable to stand here now.

“So don’t blame yourself. You both did a good job and protected each other.” Xia Zhi reached out and patted Luo Ran, aware of what he was thinking.

Luo Ran didn’t let it go. He asked: “Then as you’ve said, you managed to save his life. What else?”

Luo Xingyuan also got up and looked over.

Xia Zhi hesitated, then said: “Half of his face is ruined, and there will be scars, but long-term application of medicine will let them fade. There is also a spinal injury, so he cannot walk naturally in the future, but you can rest assured that with the Empire’s prosthetic technology, there will be no problem giving him mechanical legs.”

The doctors inside pushed Rong An out and transferred him to the intensive care unit. Most of Rong An’s face was covered in bandages, and he couldn’t see what was going on around him.

“…..It’s alright.” Luo Xingyuan lowered his head, and his expression couldn’t be seen clearly. “He’s an undercover agent. With this identity, it’s good enough that his life can be saved.”

“Commander Luo, go back,” Luo Xingyuan said hoarsely. “You are also seriously injured.”

Luo Ran glanced at Luo Xingyuan. He paused, then said: “All right.”

Luo Xingyuan said: “You need to have a good rest and refresh yourself. I’ll handle the official duties on the battleship for the time being. You can sign off on things once you wake up and read them.”

“Okay.”

Luo Ran nodded and headed back toward the room.

Once he relaxed, Luo Ran could feel the stinging wounds on his body and his spiritual state.

He leaned against the wall and frowned tightly.

Before his eyes was a sea of wisteria flowers.

He was hallucinating again.

“Commander Luo..…!”

“I’m okay.” Luo Ran accepted Wang Qiuyang’s support and went into the room.

Xia Zhi had just finished a day-long operation, but after disinfecting and tidying up, he quickly returned to Luo Ran’s side. After all, Luo Ran also needed him because of his confidential identity.

Xia Zhi focused on scanning Luo Ran’s head, then said with a frown: “The wound that healed with great difficulty…..you…..”

What a disaster.

Looking at Xia Zhi’s exhausted yet professional appearance, Luo Ran said: “Xiaxia.”

“En?”

Luo Ran lowered his eyes and paused, not speaking.

Xia Zhi looked at Luo Ran for a moment, then smiled and said: “I know what you’re thinking.”

Xia Zhi pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, saying: “I used to be like this. I think you should know why I quit…..I couldn’t be as strong as they were. I was exposed to so much death on the battlefield, but I couldn’t accept it. What I didn’t understand at the time was why Lao Shen was so indifferent in that situation, why the Admiral was so unwell after Admiral Alton’s death.”

“So I regret it very much. Because of my cowardice, I couldn’t say goodbye to Admiral Alton. I lost my professional ability as a field doctor, and I couldn’t give Admiral Alton comfort on his deathbed.”

Luo Ran reached out and gently rubbed Xia Zhi’s shoulder.

Xia Zhi smiled slightly and said: “It’s okay, I understand now. It’s because I must be dispassionate. Just like how when Adjutant Rong sacrificed himself for us, Commander Luo became more determined. He couldn’t be discouraged or knocked down, and must quickly adjust his mood in order to continue to work on the battleship as a leader.”

Luo Ran nodded, then shook his head again.

“I understand, it’s just that now I can see the Admiral’s situation better.”

This was Luo Ran’s first time leading troops, and he also remembered the previous expedition with Lucas.

At that time, they were being chased and beaten by star pirates, and Wang Qiuyang and Lu Cheng quickly reached a consensus — Lu Cheng took him away, and Wang Qiuyang stayed.

At that time, Lu Cheng didn’t know if Wang Qiuyang would live or die if he stayed, but neither of them showed any emotion, and just completed their tasks.

Luo Ran thought, how difficult must it have been for Lucas.

So many years of immersion.

So many names struck out in the military’s system.

“Don’t think about it.” Xia Zhi finished his inspection and took out a syringe, injecting it into Luo Ran. “You’ll be able to meet the Admiral soon.”

“En.”

Halfway through the injection, Luo Ran suddenly felt nauseous.

“Wait, wait…..”

Luo Ran pushed Xia Zhi away, then turned his head and retched, as if allergic to the medicine.

Xia Zhi: “ ? ? ? ”

Luo Ran said with a pale face: “Sorry, I’m not feeling well.”

Xia Zhi: “……”

No wonder, Xia Zhi thought. After all, Luo Ran had just been officially marked.

Luo Ran glanced at Xia Zhi and said helplessly: “No, that’s not it. I took the medicine after the official mark.”

“……Ah.”

After giving him the injection, Xia Zhi went to rest.

After a while, Luo Ran received a call request from Lucas.

“Hello? Admiral?”

“……”

“Admiral?”

“…..Ranran.” Lucas said: “It’s good that you’re okay.”

“En, I’m fine.” Luo Ran noticed that Lucas’s voice was a little strange, and could probably guess what was going on.

Lucas should have received news of the explosion before, and had only just confirmed that he was okay.

“Admiral, I’m okay. I can protect myself.” Luo Ran tucked himself into bed and said with a smile: “We’ll meet again soon.”

“En.”

Luo Ran had a bit of a headache. Although he’d had an injection, he was still very uncomfortable. It was as if someone was poking his brain with hundreds of needles.

And what was even more strange was that Luo Ran missed Lucas very much, especially after hearing his voice at this moment.

He missed his pheromones. He wanted to be surrounded by Lucas and his pheromones.

It was like being addicted to drugs.

Perhaps it was because of the mark.

“Admiral…..” Luo Ran leaned back on the pillow and said: “What are you doing?”

“Lying down to rest.”

Luo Ran paused, not saying anything.

“Ranran, turn on the video.”

“……It’s inconvenient.”

Luo Ran was covered in bandages at the moment, and his face was very pale. He had been enduring the pain in his head, and didn’t want Lucas to see.

“Luo Ran.”

“Do it.”

Lucas directly sent the request, and seeing that Luo Ran didn’t accept it, he sent a series of them.

Luo Ran: “……”

Luo Ran had no choice but to cover himself up to his nose with the quilt.

“You…..” Lucas knew what was going on when he saw Luo Ran’s condition.

Lucas asked: “Does it hurt?”

“…..It’s fine.”

Lucas was a little upset. He wasn’t with Luo Ran at the moment, and couldn’t comfort him with his pheromones.

“Ranran, you……”

“Do it yourself, I’ll tell you what to do. Shen Xiluo said that this will relieve the pain.”

“……?”

“Go and ask Xia Zhi for Alpha pheromone simulation spray. It’s effective when you’re in heat.”

“……”

Luo Ran had never expected that one day he would have such a shameful, strange terminal conversation with Lucas. 

And his reasoning was justified. It really could relieve the spiritual pain a little bit.

Only, although Luo Ran was more comfortable after finishing, he still couldn’t help going to the toilet to vomit due to the mood swings.

Luo Ran suddenly remembered something.

After the official mark, he had taken the medicine.

But on Lucas’s birthday, he didn’t.

Luo Ran: “…….”

Hiss.

---

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Chapter Eighty-Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Ninety