The elevator went all the way up, emitting a faint hum. As soon as the metal doors slid open, Gary took the lead and stepped out. He took a deep breath, his fingers flying across the control panel in the surveillance blind spot, skillfully entering a long string of highest-level encrypted commands.
Jiang Lijin, on the other hand, swaggered into the glass enclosure. Gary immediately brought up the holographic control console, manipulating the projected berserk spiritual body to abruptly turn its massive snake head and lock its eyes dead on her.
She stood outside the safety line, raised her hands, and slightly furrowed her brows. Her aura was fully unleashed, looking as if she were madly pouring out her spiritual energy. The posture left Gary completely dumbfounded.
After a while, she popped open the silver medical kit with one hand. Her gaze drifted lightly over the red, high-purity sedative, and finally, her fingers swerved, fishing out a most ordinary multivitamin injection from the corner.
She shot Gary a meaningful glance.
Seeing the injection in her hand, Gary understood immediately and struck the virtual keyboard forcefully. In the holographic projection, the berserk giant python let out a deafening roar and lunged at her.
Right at the moment the python's fangs were about to touch her, Jiang Lijin seized the perfect opportunity. Gripping the multivitamin, she stabbed it cleanly and swiftly into the phantom's neck!
Fall, she spat out a single word lightly.
Gary caught on perfectly, simultaneously hitting the enter key hard. The python in the hologram cooperated flawlessly; after twitching violently twice, it crashed to the ground.
The next second, Jiang Lijin took a deep breath. Her previously straight shoulders instantly slumped, and even her eyes became unfocused.
Gary played his part well, immediately rushing in to support her elbow. Keeping in mind her instructions from the elevator, he forced his brows into a tight knot and helped her stumble outward.
Not long after they walked out of the quarantine zone, the medical department major general, who had been sweating profusely with anxiety earlier, hurried over to meet them.
Feeling the residual coercion in the air, he didn't dare get too close. Standing a few steps away, he anxiously craned his neck to look. Adjutant Gary, how is... the Supreme Commander's condition?
His life... is saved for now. Gary lowered his voice, sounding hoarse. Ms. Jiang desperately exhausted all her spiritual energy and barely managed to suppress half of the Supreme Commander's rampage. But she really can't hold on any longer; her spiritual sea is on the verge of drying up. For safety's sake, the purification had to be paused.
Hearing this, the medical officer let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes turning red. Being able to suppress half of it was already a miracle! He looked at the weak Jiang Lijin leaning against Gary, his face full of gratitude for having survived a disaster.
Then the follow-up...
We will wait for Ms. Jiang to recover for two days before conducting the second purification, Gary interrupted him, his expression turning stern. Ms. Jiang injected the Supreme Commander with the highest dose of anesthetic. Although he has fallen asleep, his spiritual coercion is still continuously radiating outward. Pass on my orders: for the next two days, anyone below S-rank is strictly forbidden from approaching the isolation room!
The medical officer nodded repeatedly, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he retreated.
Gary supported Jiang Lijin, passing through the multiple security gates of the A1 core zone, and headed toward the officer lounge area in Zone C.
Just as they turned a corner, they saw several young officers standing ahead. Judging by their epaulettes, they were all newly promoted major generals.
They were gathered together conversing in low voices. Looking up and seeing Gary, they uniformly saluted.
Greetings, Adjutant.
Gary gave a slight nod in return.
Among this group stood a particularly eye-catching man. With short dark blue hair and gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, his whole person exuded an ascetic vibe.
This person was none other than Kieran.
When he saw clearly who the woman supported in Gary's arms was, Kieran's expression changed. But that astonishment lingered for less than half a second before he completely concealed it, replacing it once again with his usual unruffled face.
Jiang Lijin? Why is she here? And looking so weak?
Adjutant, who is this? a major general next to him couldn't help his curiosity and asked.
The Supreme Commander's wife, the only 3S-rank female in the interstellar, Ms. Jiang Lijin. Gary didn't even bat an eyelid, bringing out the same story as before. The Supreme Commander's condition has temporarily stabilized, but the purification is only half done. A1 is a restricted area for the next few days. You guys should be careful too, don't go asking for trouble.
The several major generals gasped, agreeing repeatedly. Kieran stood in the crowd, his gaze quietly sweeping over Jiang Lijin's pale face. He didn't make a sound, simply lowering his head along with the others to make way.
Pretending to be weak, Jiang Lijin lifted her eyelids slightly and, sure enough, spotted Kieran in the group. She sneered inwardly and continued to play dead, letting Gary help her away.
It wasn't until they were completely out of sight of that group that Gary stopped with her in front of a door. He raised his wrist and swiped his optical computer over the access control.
Beep—Identity confirmed.
The door opened.
Ms. Jiang, this is the Supreme Commander's room. The clearance level is the highest. You can rest here for now.
Jiang Lijin stood up straight and looked at him sideways. You even have access to Baal's room? The relationship between you two is quite intriguing.
Gary quickly raised both hands to prove his innocence. My lady, please don't talk nonsense! This is the highest clearance of an adjutant, meant for me to conveniently report urgent military intelligence at any time!
The two walked into the room. This place was simply a replica of Baal himself—cold, monotonous, without any unnecessary decorations.
Pure black bedsheets, a gray metal wardrobe, and a few sharpened military daggers hanging on the wall.
As soon as the door closed, Jiang Lijin's weak appearance vanished without a trace. She walked over to the cold, hard single bed, sat down unceremoniously, and flicked the bedsheet in disgust.
I'm starving to death. She familiarly started ordering Gary around. I brought luggage when I came, it's all on that starship. Inside is the food Tinia prepared for me. Go get someone to move it over here for me.
Alright, I'll go arrange it now. Gary turned and walked toward the door.
Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he stopped again, turned around, and frowned deeply. No, I can't just leave like this. What if the mole who drugged him really comes knocking? If you lose even a single hair here, the Supreme Commander will chop me into minced meat alive.
Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes, fell back onto the bed, and found a comfortable position to lean against. Are you stupid? If you stand here like a door god, how would Kieran dare to come and ask about the situation?
Gary choked on his words. The logic made sense, but he was still uneasy.
Then how about this, he took a step back. I'll have someone bring the things over, and then I'll find a hidden corner not far from here to keep watch.
Suit yourself, just don't bother me while I'm eating. Jiang Lijin waved her hand, as if swatting away a fly.
Gary sighed and resignedly went out to act as a bodyguard.
Not long after, two logistics soldiers came in sweating profusely, carrying three huge incubator boxes. After setting the things down, the two didn't even dare to lift their heads, retreating as if fleeing for their lives.
Jiang Lijin could not wait to open the first box. She rummaged out a pack of meat floss biscuits, tore open the packaging, and stuffed one right into her mouth. The crispy texture mixed with the savory aroma of meat spread across her palate, and she narrowed her eyes in pure satisfaction.
The optical computer on her wrist began to vibrate frantically.
Actually, it had rung several times earlier when she was in the isolation room, but she had been too busy putting on an act to pay attention to it.
Opening StarMessage, she saw her unread notifications had completely blown up.
At the very top was a continuous bombardment of dozens of messages from Tinia, consisting entirely of crying and praying emojis, interspersed with anxious questions like "Did you arrive safely?", "Did you encounter any Zerg?", and "How is the food on the frontline?"
Biting down on a biscuit, Jiang Lijin replied with one hand: [Arrived safely. I am eating the biscuits you packed for me, and the taste is absolutely incredible.]
The next message was from Chiron: [Calculating the time, you should have arrived by now. Did everything go smoothly? I hope you will never need to use the items in the medical kit.]
Jiang Lijin replied: [Everything went smoothly, thanks.]
Just as she finished handling these two conversations, an extremely brief new message notification suddenly popped up at the top of the screen.
Sender: Kieran.
Jiang Lijin stopped chewing. She had actually forgotten to block this jerk when she opened the app earlier.
Tapping into the chat box, there was only one dry sentence: [Where are you right now?]
Jiang Lijin let out a cold sneer. The fish had taken the bait, and he was even more impatient than she had imagined.
She slowly and deliberately swallowed the biscuit in her mouth, her fingers tapping away on the virtual keyboard: [In Baal's room.]
The other side replied almost instantly: [Is it a convenient time?]
Looking at those words, Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes so hard she practically saw the back of her own head. With a tap of her fingertip, she sent: [Inconvenient.]
