Yu Lian felt moved as well. The mere master of an insect swarm was now displaying such fearless courage that even he, a man without blood or tears, couldn't help wondering if he'd been too cynical all along.
So he said, "Very good. That brings us to the question: how are you going to open it?"
Xiali made a "gulp" sound, and her expression immediately crumpled.
Yu Lian pondered for a moment, then said, "Don't tell me you don't know how to open it, and that's why you've been lingering around here?"
Xiali turned her face away, out of Yu Lian's sight. Her shoulders and the bone wings on her back began to tremble.
"You've spent all this time trying to figure out how to open it, but you had no idea who to ask for help. You couldn't bring yourself to leave, either, so you had no choice but to use the Diamond Nebula as a base and get to work. Along the way, you also helped the rebel army and my subordinates a few times. That's how you all formed an unofficial alliance, right?"
Xiali lowered her head and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Thank you for looking after them. Without you, my subordinates might have been wiped out by now, and the rebels definitely wouldn't have managed to put together a fleet. Who says you've wasted the past six months in the Diamond Nebula?"
Xiali was about to lift her head and bask in the praise when she heard the rest of what Yu Lian had to say. "But that's the only thing you've accomplished in the past six months. Don't tell me you still don't know how to get inside?"
Xiali turned around and crouched down, clutching her head. The two bone wings on her back drooped, like