This Is Part of the Plan

After leaving the hospital room, Jayce stood with his back to the door and turned his head slightly, his gaze falling above it.

He lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and walked down the hallway.

A beautiful planet, the Rai Quadrant.

Teddus had shed his usual skintight combat suit and was dressed casually as he walked shoulder to shoulder with Maya along the bustling city streets.

Maya still held honey bread in both hands, her cheeks puffed out from eating like a hamster stockpiling food.

Since their encounter by the sea last time, their feelings for each other had gradually grown through their time together.

Teddus simply did not yet know how to describe this feeling.

He believed it was a subtle bond that surpassed the tacit understanding between comrades, yet had not been defined.

"Have one."

Maya held a piece of honey bread up to Teddus's lips.

Teddus stopped walking and instinctively opened his mouth to bite the edge of the bread, but Maya mischievously pulled her fingers back and bit the honey bread herself.

"Hehe, fooled you."

She spoke indistinctly, crumbs and syrup clinging to the corners of her mouth.

Teddus remained expressionless and did not respond. He suddenly reached out, intending to wipe away the crumbs on her cheek.

But Maya leaned back and dodged as though she had expected it, staring warily and strangely at Teddus's hand hanging in midair.

"Hmph, were you trying to sneak up on me? You're being naughty~"

She held out a finger and waved it back and forth before Teddus's eyes.

Embarrassment appeared on Teddus's face instead. He coughed lightly, withdrew his hand, and rubbed the back of his neck to conceal his utter awkwardness.

Seeing how flustered he looked, Maya chuckled and broke off a small piece of honey bread.

Before he could react, she quickly stuffed it into his slightly open mouth.

"This time it's real. Let's go."

Maya continued down the street.

Teddus remained where he was, fiercely smacking the back of his right hand several times with his left.

For some reason, seeing the crumbs at the corner of Maya's mouth had stirred up an inexplicable impulse in him, and his right hand had risen without even passing through his brain.

What the hell was I doing just now? he cursed himself inwardly.

At that moment, Maya noticed that Teddus had not followed. She turned around, tilted her head, and looked at him.

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and catch up."

"Otherwise, that especially delicious shop is going to close."

Teddus's Adam's apple bobbed as he strode after Maya.

The two walked side by side beneath the lingering glow of the setting sun, their long shadows behind them overlapping and then separating.

The view pulled back, revealing that this scene was playing on a projection inside a room.

The light from the projection outlined seven figures of different shapes in the dim room.

The figure in the third chair from the left spoke.

"Very good. With emotion as a catalyst, even someone as ruthless as Teddus will become deeply ensnared."

The seventh figure replied.

"I said before that the Viltrumites' fatal weakness is emotion. This is only the initial stage."

The first figure tapped on the table and asked enticingly.

"Maya was also arranged by you?"

The seventh figure spoke proudly.

"Of course."

At this point, the third figure could not help asking.

"What is the next phase of the plan? Making Teddus hate the Viltrumite Empire will not be easy."

"Hmm..." The seventh person groaned softly before continuing. "If I remember correctly, doesn't the Alliance have someone capable of changing forms? The one codenamed Chameleon."

The second person searched his memories for whether the Alliance had such a person. Once he recalled him, he spoke in the silent room.

"There is indeed such a person."

"His race is supposedly born with the ability to imitate the traits of other life forms and can alter their appearance and physique."

"However, his home planet was destroyed by the Viltrumite Empire thirty years ago, and he was the sole survivor."

"What? Does he have a role in this plan as well?"

The seventh person chuckled, leaned forward slightly, and shifted his gaze continuously among the six others.

"Think about it. When Teddus is so deeply in love that he cannot pull himself free, what kind of scene will it be when a Viltrumite appears and kills the person he loves most?"

The sixth person turned to look at the seventh.

"Don't tell me you want... Chameleon to take on a Viltrumite's appearance and build, then kill Maya?"

The fourth person added.

"I know a little about Chameleon. He is very weak. Are you sure he can do that?"

"And wasn't Maya arranged by you? Would killing her provoke opposition within the Alliance?"

The seventh person burst out laughing and waved a hand dismissively.

"Relax. Chameleon is more than capable of dealing with Maya. Killing her will be no trouble at all."

"As for opposition within the Alliance, for the greater plan of the universe, this is a necessary sacrifice and a necessary part of the plan."

"When the time comes, I will have Chameleon leave Maya barely alive so she can personally tell Teddus that a Viltrumite was the one who killed her."

"The person he loves most dying at the hands of his own people will pierce Teddus's heart like a thorn. How will he choose?"

"Will he suppress his grief and continue serving the Empire, or will he stand against the Viltrumite Empire?"

The first person nodded lightly.

"When will the plan be carried out?"

The seventh person fixed his gaze on the image playing on the projection.

In the scene, Teddus stood expressionlessly while Maya stood on tiptoe, holding honey bread to his mouth.

"Wait a little longer. Wait a little longer."

"One year, two years, even three years—we can afford to wait."

Inside a hospital room on some planet.

Sparta still lay on the bed covered in bandages, while an alien doctor in a white coat stood beside him.

The doctor held a clipboard with a sheet of paper in his left hand and a pen in his right.

"How do you feel? Have you experienced any unexplained pain?"

Sparta shook his head. "There hasn't been any pain as long as it isn't pressed."

As soon as he said that, the doctor's expression turned strange.

No pain? The anesthetic had worn off long ago. How could there possibly be no pain?

Filled with doubt, the doctor unwrapped the bandages around Sparta's right arm. When the bandages came off and the arm came into view—

The doctor's eyes widened at once, and he exclaimed in amazement.

"What astonishing regenerative ability. The wound is healing at a speed I cannot comprehend. This is unscientific."

"With injuries like this, members of our race would need at least three months to recover, but you only needed... a few hours."

On the operating table, Sparta's arm had clearly been broken into two pieces.

Yet not much time had passed, and the severed bones had miraculously fused back together. Only the flesh and skin had not fully recovered yet.

Sparta raised his head, glanced at his arm, and replied with a smile.

"At this rate, how much longer until it fully recovers?"

The doctor wrapped the bandages back around it, picked up the clipboard and pen, and answered with certainty.

"One hour, perhaps even less than an hour."

"Thank you. I understand."

"No need to thank me. It's my duty. Remember to call me if you need anything, and get plenty of rest."