Three weeks later.
Inside Verdant Dew Sanatorium, First Oasis.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of broad-leaved trees, falling across the edge of the medical pod.
"Your bones are recovering well. Keep it up."
"Your nutritional intake is keeping pace, too."
"When you were unconscious in the medical pod, nutrient supplements were all that sustained your vital signs. Those things... it's not that I'm biased against them. They're fine in an emergency, but they still fall short of real food."
"And the facts bear that out. You did develop severe malnutrition after leaving the medical pod."
"So you still need to pay close attention to your diet."
Charles Lee studied the electronic display as he gave Shen Que his instructions.
Three minutes earlier, Shen Que had emerged from the medical pod.
He had undergone twelve long hours of drug injections, treatment, and comprehensive examinations.
Now he was drinking a nutrient supplement to tide himself over.
"Don't stay up late or drink alcohol. You can get a little more exercise."
"But nothing too strenuous, like piloting a mecha."
Charles spoke sternly.
"You're not even allowed to touch one."
Shen Que nodded.
Nothing in his calm, composed expression gave away the fact that-
Seven days earlier, this patient had already defied medical advice and played three consecutive mecha combat matches with Pei Ji.
He hadn't actually intended to court death like that.
But that day had been the last day of Pei Ji's wedding leave.
At six thirty in the morning, Pei Ji had gotten up punctually and headed to the Simulated Training Ground.
Shen Que had slowly awakened when the Alpha's pheromones in the room had faded until they were almost imperceptible.
After lazily soaking up the lingering scent from the half-cold bed, he had gone to the training ground as usual to wait for his Alpha so they could have breakfast together.
Given the disaster on the day after their wedding, Shen Que couldn't take the field. He could only review Pei Ji's simulation data in the Control Room.
Reviewing combat data was something he had done almost every day in the fleet.
The only difference was that he used to review over a hundred people at a time. Now he reviewed just one.
At first, Pei Ji had been somewhat resistant to letting him see his data, but since Shen Que hadn't raised any more questions about his piloting, he had let it go.
After watching Pei Ji blast Insect Nests for a while in utter boredom, Shen Que had pulled up the simulated terrain. His slender fingers flew as he personally designed a training environment for his Alpha.
For a commander with thousands of battle models stored in his head, simulating a training environment was child's play.
However difficult a Brain Computer's simulated training might be, it could never be as flexible and devious as a person. Nor could it manipulate the holographic projections in real time according to Pei Ji's attacks, as Shen Que did, targeting his weaknesses and making his life as miserable as possible.
Any other normal combat soldier would have been driven to a complete meltdown within ten minutes.
But Pei Ji wasn't a normal combat soldier.
The more aggravating it got, the more fired up he became.
Devour Heaven darted through the maze-like terrain, supreme perception and combat instinct merging into one. Its explosive cannon fire nearly flattened everything in its path.
The genes embedded in an Alpha's bones meant that words like "gentleness" and "restraint" didn't exist in their subconscious.
Every attack laid bare Pei Ji's dominance, arrogance, and urge to destroy.
His reckless approach made Shen Que frown.
Yet as he watched, for some reason, a thought suddenly rose in Shen Que's mind.
He's leaving tomorrow.
Going back to the fleet.
He won't be training here anymore.
The brows furrowed in disapproval slowly relaxed, and Shen Que suddenly reached out and switched off the simulated terrain.
The rampaging black mecha stopped just short of the control room's glass.
The Omega lifted his chin.
"Fight a combat match with me."
Pei Ji's soft chuckle came through the headset.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Shen Que sneered, then unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of "friendly pointers," covering everything from the Alpha's reckless attacks to his clumsy piloting skills.
Three minutes later, two D-Class Mecha appeared on the field.
The Omega got his wish.
And earned himself another bout of fever.
Seated before Charles.
The Omega obediently assured the doctor that he had never done anything as death-defying as piloting a mecha.
Playing matches with Pei Ji gave him the illusion that he wasn't quite so useless. Shen Que liked that illusion.
"Good, then."
The traditional Alpha doctor, who liked to judge people by appearances, had almost one hundred percent trust in the mature, dependable commander before him.
"You must remember that your body is the foundation of everything. Only when it's healthy will your mental power have a chance of recovering."
"To use an analogy, your body is the soil, and your mental power is the plant growing in it. Only fertile soil gives a seed the chance to sprout."
Shen Que considered that. "So my current condition is like a seed that hasn't sprouted yet?"
"You can think of it that way."
Charles paused, then offered a tactful reminder.
"But... we still can't be certain whether any seeds remain in your soil."
Shen Que nodded.
That was what he had expected.
He looked at the pitch-black light screen to Dr. Li's right. It displayed his mental power, which would ordinarily appear as points of light like fireflies.
The greater the mental power, the denser the points of light.
Before, at every medical examination, his screen had been a sea of stars.
"If you don't mind, could you describe what happened when you were injured?" Charles suddenly asked.
"It might offer some insight for your future treatment."
Shen Que's expression remained unchanged.
"Of course."
He began as calmly as if he were describing what he had eaten that day.
"It was nine months ago. The First Fleet encountered the Space Pirates near the 8215 Asteroid Belt."
"Because of my... error in judgment, around thirty-seven minutes after the exchange of fire began, we lost contact with the fleet's right flank. The Brain Computer's detection system malfunctioned, making it impossible to accurately assess conditions inside the asteroid belt."
"Conditions in the asteroid belt were complex. Without the Brain Computer's assistance, a fleet of that size would have had difficulty passing through safely."
"I chose to leave the flagship in Cold Glow. Cold Glow was an SSS-class mecha, equipped with a Brain Computer system with the highest level of authorization. It could supply the flagship with the missing data-that was another error in judgment."
"The pirates were waiting for me in the asteroid belt."
Shen Que's fingertips tensed.
Asteroid fragments spun at high speed. More than ten pirate warships, over twenty mecha, and a dense barrage of bullets had cut off every route of retreat.
Even the slightest mistake could send him plunging into the abyss.
"Cold Glow was a light mecha, inherently poor at taking damage. I had no choice but to try to break out of the asteroid belt, but..."
He briefly closed his eyes.
"Along the way, I collided with an asteroid in the A-class weight category. My neural synapses suffered severe damage, and I lost consciousness on the spot."
"Afterward, the Seventh Fleet, which had arrived to provide support, rescued me and brought me back to Messiah. By the time I woke up, eight months had passed."
He had recounted this account countless times, before the Imperial Court, before the Council, and even at a public press conference on the Star Network.
Without changing a single word.
Before you continue