Solace

When Mo Heng returned from his business trip, feeling rather pleased with himself, he found the leave slip Xilin had left in the studio. Mo Heng's expression immediately went from sunny to stormy. Everyone in the Research Department fell silent, trembling with fear. They all knew Old Master Mo was in a bad mood—a very bad mood.

Since he knew certain details about the military operation, Mo Heng had held back from contacting them. It wasn't until he heard the operation was nearing its end, and that Xilin had single-handedly analyzed and synthesized over a hundred types of antibodies, outperforming more than fifty base researchers, that Mo Heng's mood improved a little. As Vice Principal An Ting put it, the old fox's tail had perked up a little higher.

But Mo Heng hadn't expected to hear that Xilin had been attacked as soon as the call connected. Old Master Mo's already cloudy mood turned straight into a storm. As he listened to Huoding's explanation, his expression grew even darker.

"So you're telling me my apprentice made such a huge contribution while injured, only to be attacked by someone from behind?!"

Huoding fell silent. Knowing Mo Heng, it was better not to say anything right now.

"How is he now?" Mo Heng's voice turned low and heavy, so heavy it was almost unbearable.

"After emergency treatment, the attending physician said he's stabilized a little..."

"I'm not reassured. I'm bringing people over right now..."

Huoding was on a call in a lounge next to the emergency room. Just as he was sweating profusely while trying to deal with Mo Heng, a medic knocked and came in. Huoding had already told him to inform him as soon as there was any news from the emergency room. Seeing Huoding on the call, the medic handed him an electronic notebook.

After reading what was on the screen, Huoding finally felt a little more at ease.

"Old Mo, I just got word that Xilin is out of danger."

Seeing the obvious doubt in Mo Heng's eyes, Huoding took the communicator into the emergency room and showed him the vital signs on the monitors. He also let him see Xilin's complexion. After examining everything for a long while, Mo Heng finally believed him a little. Even so, he insisted that Xilin be sent back to Seven Luminaries as soon as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel at ease.

"I'm telling you, even if every last person at that base were fed to rats, I wouldn't bat an eyelid. All of them put together are worth nowhere near as much as my apprentice! Why should someone else have to pay with their life for a major accident caused by their own incompetence? Pah, to hell with paying with their lives... Why should someone else have to clean up their mess?!"

Whenever Old Master Mo got angry, his rogue streak came out. His son, General Mo Qing, had inherited that streak from him in full. Huoding and Gerard had witnessed it firsthand back when General Mo Qing was still young. Once that side of him came out, no matter who showed up, it was hard to stop him from doing what he wanted. And his words were always the exact opposite of tactful.

Someone like Mo Heng would usually put on the air of a kindly, respected scholar when he was in a good mood. But when he lost his temper, all you could do was pray for yourself.

That was the thing about brilliant people with tempers. They faced a vast world, but the world inside them wasn't necessarily so vast. So when they got protective, don't try to stop them. Huoding understood that well. All he could do was stay silent through Mo Heng's extreme outbursts, hear them in one moment and forget them the next. Otherwise, if word got out, it could tarnish Old Master Mo's kindly image...

Fortunately, Huoding had sent the medical staff out when they first came in. Otherwise... well, best not to think about it.

After giving Huoding a few more instructions, Mo Heng finally ended the call, albeit reluctantly. But from then on, Huoding had to report on Xilin's condition every hour. If he didn't, Mo Heng would come over in person. Huoding wouldn't dare put Old Master Mo through that trouble.

Mo Heng's expression didn't improve much after the call ended. Ever since he'd decided to take Xilin on as his direct apprentice, he'd looked into the Daongs Family and learned about the dirty tricks and infighting behind its power struggles. The Daongs Family had considerable influence in Trade District 10, but that meant nothing to Mo Heng. He cared about a person's ability, not their background or the benefits their status could bring. He even hoped Xilin would leave the Daongs Family and have no backing at all, so he wouldn't get caught up in those sordid struggles.

But now that something like this had happened, Mo Heng wasn't about to stand by and watch his apprentice suffer. Someone would have to pay.

Although Mo Heng worked in academia, the old man had a heart of iron. Just look at General Mo Qing. How could the man who'd raised a general like him be soft-hearted?...

Mo Heng adjusted the signal code on his communicator and dialed a number...

Some people had gotten so used to throwing their weight around in Trade District 10 that they'd forgotten how vast the universe was!

Huoding, Knight, and the others began investigating the attacker. Before long, they heard that the woman had injected herself with cyanide in the medicine storeroom and killed herself. She hadn't even avoided the security cameras; she'd injected a massive dose right in front of them. Her mission had failed and she'd been exposed. There was no way out for her. Even as she died, she couldn't understand how Xilin was still alive. So much time had passed since the injection, yet he was still breathing.

How had the woman gotten onto the medical ship? And who had helped cover for her? The medical staff had been carefully selected and vetted. She definitely had accomplices—more than one. They could be soldiers, researchers, or medical personnel...

Huoding understood how complicated the matter was. Remembering the promise he'd made to Mo Heng, he ordered the ship to take the wounded back to Seven Luminaries first. Xilin and Pride were to have dedicated guards watching over them. Nothing could go wrong. Otherwise, he'd have to take the insignia off his shoulder.

While everyone was busy, Xilin lay asleep, yet his mind remained clear. He knew what was happening around him, and he knew how much Mo Heng cared about him. He also knew Knight, Hard, and Saqi had stayed outside the door the whole time.

It would have been a lie to say he wasn't moved. When Xilin was very young, Yuanye had told him that people were social creatures. Among the hundreds of billions of people encountered or glimpsed by those who traveled through the star systems, only a handful would truly treat you well. That kind of wealth couldn't be bought with money or gained with time. Even those who walked alone carried a hidden longing deep in their hearts.

Events had unfolded just as Xilin expected. He'd anticipated that the others would have a backup plan. When he saw the woman carrying a tray of medicine on the surveillance feed, he knew it had come. So he'd left his communicator on, giving Knight a trail to follow. Even if the investigation failed, it would force the assassin into a dead end. Assassins like her, who failed their mission and exposed themselves, were doomed.

But this incident had also let Xilin feel a long-forgotten warmth—the solace he'd felt again after Yuanye and Hena had both passed away. As he lay in his hospital bed, at least someone was keeping watch on the other side of the door.

Compared with others his age, he'd been through too much.