IRCDM Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Novelty, You Love Me?

The instant Liang Huan fell into the water, he directly detonated the concentrated low-yield nuclear bomb in his hand on the Rhine mecha’s operating console. In the next second, the two mechas exploded violently in the water. The massive waves surged into the sky, and the shockwave from the concentrated low-yield nuclear bomb scattered the pursuing mechas.

A bloody hand reached out from the water. As he exerted force, the veins on the back of his hand bulged. The entire person, along with the protective light sphere, shot out of the water.

Liang Huan coughed up black blood. The transparent protective light sphere around him shattered into powder.

He looked up at the surrounding forest and garden, which had been ravaged into a mess. He reached out and took out all of the mental power enhancer, pouring it into his mouth. The intense resistance and discomfort caused his mental power to fluctuate violently, but before long, a familiar mental connection came online.

Liang Huan lowered his head, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips in the darkness.

“Liang Huan!” Li Yao’s voice came, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

Liang Huan staggered forward two steps. His legs went weak, and he was about to collapse to the ground, but then someone grabbed his arm and hauled him up.

He simply gave up resisting and leaned his entire weight on Li Yao.

“Are you crazy?” Li Yao probably wanted to yell at him, but worried about being discovered, he could only suppress his voice.

Liang Huan wrapped his arms around Li Yao’s waist and sighed in relief, “I thought I wouldn’t see you again.”

Li Yao opened his mouth, at a loss for words, “It’s just mining rights, did you have to make such a big scene? Couldn’t you have waited patiently? I would have just given it to you.”

Liang Huan greedily inhaled the scent on Li Yao’s body, using it to suppress the nausea in his stomach. He lightly rubbed his bloody chin against Li Yao’s cheek, “I was afraid I wouldn’t live that long. Your brother just cursed me for being short-lived.”

“His brain’s been eaten by heteromorphs, don’t pay him any mind.” Li Yao grabbed his belt, preparing to scoop him up in his arms.

Liang Huan gripped his arm and straightened up, sternly saying, “I’m not that weak.”

Li Yao raised an eyebrow.

The clamorous sound of military soldiers searching for people came from the distance. Liang Huan’s shirt was covered in blood. He stood before Li Yao, completely soaked. His wet black hair hung in front of his eyes, and the wound at the corner of his eye was deep enough to see bone, constantly bleeding. It looked like bloody tears that had been branded onto his face, snaking along his cheeks to his neck, making his skin appear even paler.

…He looked quite pitiful.

Li Yao’s original plan was to tie him up and beat him up first, but now there was something stuck in his throat, neither up nor down. He licked his back teeth hard, grabbed Liang Huan’s wet and cold wrist, and strode forward, his tone irritable, “You come with me first!”

Liang Huan coughed weakly and followed his lead, the blood dripping from his body leaving a trail on the ground.

“Tch.” Li Yao took off his coat and threw it into his arms.

Liang Huan met his gaze calmly.

“Put it on.” Li Yao frowned.

“My arm is injured.” Liang Huan calmly and laboriously raised his bloody arm.

Li Yao took a deep breath, unbuttoned his blood-soaked shirt, and roughly wiped his chest and back. He put his own coat on him, “Raise your arm.”

Liang Huan raised his arm skillfully and matter-of-factly, “If this were Northern Liang, you would be dressing me like this even if you were my Empress.”

Li Yao: “…Has your brain also been eaten by heteromorphs?”

Liang Huan smiled at him gently.

Li Yao looked at him unhappily, “Yi Heng Bai wouldn’t have attacked you for no reason. What did you do?”

Liang Huan said frankly, “The military has always suspected that the signal receiver isn’t on you. I just leaked a little information, and Yi Heng Bai immediately tried to kill me. It seems the military doesn’t completely trust you either.”

Li Yao chuckled, “So?”

“Why not come back with me.” Liang Huan said matter-of-factly, “If they know the signal receiver isn’t on you, their methods will only be more extreme than today.”

Li Yao didn’t respond, but led him into a basement in the garden.

This should be the gardener’s break room, built underground so as not to affect the overall aesthetic. The walls were covered with various tools for tending to flowers, and there was a chair and a small table in the middle.

“Come, sit down.” Li Yao pointed to the chair.

Liang Huan sat down. He saw Li Yao take out a miniature treatment device, adjust many parameters, and then attach the treatment device, which fit the lines of his face, to his face.

The warm stinging made Liang Huan uncomfortable. He frowned and looked up. Li Yao raised his hand and supported his chin, attaching the other end of the treatment device to the back of his neck, “What exactly are you trying to do with this whole act?”

Liang Huan turned his head in the direction of the force of his hand, seemingly exposing his vitals to him without any defense, “The East Third District’s protective shield and the West Mine’s mining rights are now in my hands. Although it cost fifty billion, it was still too easy to obtain. If you go back like this, you will definitely be suspected. I can give you two choices now.”

Li Yao wiped the blood from his neck, “Say.”

“First, come back to the East Third District with me. I’ll guarantee your safety.” Liang Huan took his hand, “Second, I’ll help you kill Yi Heng Bai, leave the heteromorph’s brain to control the body, and I’ll extract the signal receiver, use him as a container, and give him back to you.”

Li Yao slowly narrowed his eyes, “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Liang Huan said, “Which one do you choose?”

“I’m not choosing either one.” Li Yao looked down at him, “Liang Huan, what are you suspecting me of?”

Liang Huan smiled, “I’m not suspecting you. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about it these past few days. We can be separated for a short time, but if we live apart for too long, and someone stirs things up, even fathers and sons will become estranged, let alone husbands.”

“It wasn’t me who told Yi Heng Bai to attack.” Li Yao said in a low voice, “That wasn’t my plan. Although I did want to keep you here.”

“Then what was your plan?” Liang Huan looked up at him, the smile in his eyes deepening, “Li Yao, you knew a long time ago that there was something wrong with my genes, didn’t you?”

Li Yao’s jaw tightened suddenly, and silence represented affirmation.

“I’m curious, when did you find out, was it in Chuan Wu’s laboratory, or even earlier?” Liang Huan slowly played with his blood-stained fingers, “I’ve always known you were very smart, but this matter is somewhat unexpected. Does that mean that you insisted on returning to the military because you knew I wouldn’t live for many years, and staying with me in the East Third District wouldn’t be promising?”

Li Yao frowned, “What are you saying?”

“I can understand that.” Liang Huan patted the back of his hand soothingly, “Of course, it’s also possible that you’ve been secretly trying to find a way to help me solve it, but I’m really curious, when did you find out?”

Li Yao stared into his eyes as if they were about to burst into flames, “So that’s why you deliberately leaked the news to Yi Heng Bai?”

Liang Huan said righteously, “I was just going with the flow. It was Yi Heng Bai who was paranoid and couldn’t help but attack first.”

“Fuck.” Li Yao cursed through gritted teeth, pulled his hand back, pointed at him and said, “Yes, I knew a long time ago that you wouldn’t live for many years, that’s why I returned to the military. There’s no future in following you in the East Third District!”

Liang Huan didn’t seem surprised at all, and even quite understood, “I can accept that.”

“Accept my ass!” Li Yao kicked over the nearby table in anger, turned and strode towards the door, but halfway there he suddenly turned back, grabbed him from the chair. Seeing that his face was as white as a sheet of paper, he bit his lip, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.

He grabbed Liang Huan’s shoulders with both hands, pressed him back into the chair, and vigorously scratched Liang Huan’s wet hair, “Yi Heng Bai set up many mental power interference devices around here. Your mental power is very unstable right now. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”

“I don’t—” Liang Huan was cut off as his mouth was covered.

“Let me finish.” Li Yao took his cold hand, knelt down in front of him, and looked seriously into Liang Huan’s eyes, “I apologize to you first. I did know that there was something wrong with your genes. I began to suspect it from Chuan Wu’s laboratory. Later, when you mentioned that you could control the degree of mental power disorder, I was basically certain, but getting the correct conclusion requires a lot of data support.”

Liang Huan lowered his eyes and stared at him.

Li Yao squeezed his palm soothingly, “I… I went back to the military for my brother and Chen An, but I also wanted to use the East 1 Rich District’s equipment to find a way to solve the genetic defect. Liang Huan, I can’t allow the signal receiver to be in your body. Even if you say it in a very high-sounding way, saying you want to threaten the military, I can’t watch you pay the price of consuming your life. I have to be responsible for you.”

Liang Huan raised his eyebrows in surprise, with a hint of disbelief and doubt, “Be responsible for me?”

These words were truly absurd. He didn’t need anyone to be responsible for him.

Li Yao looked at his doubtful gaze, and besides being annoyed and amused, there was also a certain aching sourness. At the moment, he couldn’t even distinguish the specific reason. He took Liang Huan’s hand and lightly kissed it, “Yes, you love me, but that doesn’t mean your sacrifices for me should be taken for granted. You saved my life willingly, but I can’t accept it with peace of mind. If I love you, I have to take responsibility and can’t just watch you walk towards death.”

Liang Huan was somewhat unaccustomed to these overly direct words of the New Era humans. He raised Li Yao’s chin, “Then why did you hide it from me?”

“No one likes to know the date of their death. It would be too cruel for me to tell you in person.” Li Yao’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, “I wanted to keep you here today to use the Tech Park’s genetic equipment to temporarily alleviate it… I didn’t expect you to already know.”

Liang Huan narrowed his eyes dangerously, “Li Yao, your explanation sounds a lot like a guilty conscience trying to cover it up –”

Li Yao lowered his head and covered his mouth with one hand, “Ancestor, don’t talk nonsense anymore. My mental power is also very unstable.”

Liang Huan: “…”

After a long while, Li Yao still hadn’t let go. Liang Huan had no choice but to lower his head and admire his exposed nape. The slender neck was hidden beneath his shirt, and the black dragon patterns inside were faintly visible.

The violently fluctuating mental power gradually calmed down. He raised his hand and covered Li Yao’s bare nape, feeling the strong pulse beating under his fingertips.

Acting on a strange impulse, he seemed to understand some of Li Yao’s feelings.

After he learned from Su Mu Rong that he wouldn’t live for many years, his first reaction was to keep it a secret from Li Yao, but then he began to uncontrollably suspect. Finally, after much speculation, he confirmed that Li Yao had known about the genetic defect for a long time. As a result, many of Li Yao’s choices changed their meaning under this suspicion. He had long been accustomed to these tricks and schemes, but he didn’t really want to suspect Li Yao. Therefore, after much consideration, he revealed some information to Yi Heng Bai.

It was a test of Li Yao, but he didn’t leave himself a way out either. He could accept any of Li Yao’s choices. Even if the bird chooses a good tree to perch on, he would just have to tie him back to the East Third District.

But now he suddenly realized that Li Yao might be… afraid?

Just like when he was sitting in the ambulance, watching Li Yao’s vital signs decreasing little by little, it was the same.

But it was a little different, and it was elusive.

“Have you calmed down?” Li Yao was pinched by him a little painfully and pulled his hand away.

“Li Yao, what you just said—” Liang Huan looked at him with some novelty, as if he had discovered a pleasant and exciting new world. He leaned forward slightly, approaching Li Yao, as if looking at a unique collection he had collected that had suddenly come to life.

Surprise, doubt, excitement, but also with a hint of displeasure and indescribable satisfaction:

“You love me?”