Yu Hanjiang's actions are clearly "using public office for private gain." Are the guards supposed to live with the prince in order to protect him?
Gemini Palace is very large, but it has no guest rooms. As a prince, even if Xiao Lou had friends or guests who wanted to stay overnight in the palace, there were palaces specifically for guests. Who would sleep in a prince's room?
Xiao Lou's living room only has one bedroom, so if Yu Hanjiang wants to stay overnight, he can only sleep in the same bed with him.
Although the bed is big enough for four adults to lie side by side, and it wouldn't be crowded at all if Xiao Lou slept with Yu Hanjiang, she still felt that this wasn't quite right.
If word gets out that a prince and a guard are sleeping together, how will you explain it to people?
Meeting Yu Hanjiang's earnest gaze, Xiao Lou couldn't help but ask, "You mean, you're going to stay with me tonight?"
Yu Hanjiang remained calm: "That's right. If anyone asks, I'll say that His Highness is resting in his bedroom, and I'm standing guard outside to protect his safety."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Standing guard? They really think they're bodyguards!
Xiao Lou couldn't bear to leave Yu Hanjiang standing outside all night. He had no choice but to compromise, saying, "You can sleep here with me tonight. I want to see my father this afternoon, will you come with me?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a serious tone, "I am His Highness's bodyguard. Wherever His Highness tells me to go, I will go."
"Now you're being obedient?" Recalling the scene of him forcibly kissing her just now, Xiao Lou's ears turned red. He coughed lightly and changed the subject: "It's lunch break now, Father should be resting. Why don't we familiarize ourselves with the world background first?" He commanded his intelligent mecha, Spirit Fox: " Spirit Fox, open the star map."
The mecha, shaped like a young boy, replied in a clear voice: "Yes, Master."
A virtual LCD screen about 3 meters wide appeared in front of me, dotted with stars, some of which were marked in blue, with simple text descriptions next to them.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang stood up and walked side by side to the star map.
Xiao Lou said, "These blue-marked planets should be places where humans currently live."
Upon closer inspection, Yu Hanjiang noticed that there weren't many blue markers on the galaxy map. It seemed that even though humanity had explored many galaxies in the universe, the vastness of the universe far exceeded human imagination. There were many places that even astronomical telescopes couldn't reach, and no one knew what might be there.
Compared to the vastness of the universe, humanity is as insignificant as an ant.
Xiao Lou's finger lightly glided across the star map, and another map of the Strand Federation appeared on the screen in front of him.
This map is filled with galaxies, planets, and cities where humans live.
Based on his memory, Xiao Lou said, "The Strand Federation is a human alliance composed of many large and small countries. The unified currency is Star Coin, and people can freely enter and exit between countries. Our Luoke Empire is the largest in area and has the largest population. Its capital is located in the Gemini constellation near the equator."
He pointed to a star system nearby: "This is the Aquarius constellation. The capital star of the Azure Empire, the country with which we have the best relationship, is located in Aquarius. My sister Xiao Rou also married someone from there."
Xiao Lou's finger lit up several star regions on the star map in succession: "There are also some small countries located in the Libra and Leo star regions. Although there are some frictions between the countries, the overall relationship is still relatively harmonious."
Yu Hanjiang looked at the map of humanity, stroking his chin thoughtfully: "In my memory, there hasn't been any war between human nations in the last hundred years, and the alliances formed by humans have achieved unprecedented unity. The key reason that can unite people with such complex thoughts must lie in the power of extraterrestrial beings? Earth has been destroyed, and rebuilding our home is indeed not easy."
Xiao Lou nodded: "Yes, in the vast interstellar space, humanity has no choice but to form alliances for survival and reproduction."
Yu Hanjiang slid the map back, pointed to the blue area, and said, "Judging from the star system map, the Gemini, Aquarius, Libra, and Leo star systems are those that have been developed and inhabited by humans. Most other star systems in the universe are not suitable for human habitation. In order to expand our territory and replenish our energy, humans have been exploring the unknown universe for many years."
Xiao Lou thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What's the situation with Ninth Brother? I remember you said that Ninth Brother and Mr. Tang are on their way back?"
" The Arrow Legion, led by Ninth Brother, is the strongest vanguard legion in our empire. As far as I remember, Ninth Brother returned to Capital Star about half a year ago. The military assigned him a secret mission. I haven't had any contact with him in the past six months. I only heard from some generals in the military that he would be back soon."
Xiao Lou asked with some confusion, "You two are cousins, how come you haven't been able to contact each other for the past six months?"
Yu Hanjiang explained in a low voice, "All military communications are encrypted. It's normal that I couldn't contact him while he was on a mission. I only remember that we had a meal together before he left. He said he was going to a very far place to carry out a secret mission and probably wouldn't be back in Capital Star for a year or two."
It seems we'll have to wait until Ninth Brother returns to find out the truth.
The secret mission he's carrying out might be related to the clues in the entire secret room.
Yu Hanjiang turned to Xiao Lou and asked, "Since the background is the interstellar era, is it possible that highly intelligent alien life forms will appear, like the parasite race we encountered in Spade 8?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "That's possible. Only four star regions on the star map are suitable for human habitation; there are still many unknown areas, who knows..."
Dangerous alien creatures lurk within. If alien creatures appear in level Q, they'll definitely be more difficult to deal with than the Zerg in Spade 8. Thinking of those parasitic creatures sent chills down Xiao Lou's spine.
He paused, glanced at the map of the Strand Federation, and said, "But it could also be internal strife among humans? Red Heart A assigned me the identity of a 'prince,' could there be some plot involving a power struggle or a coup?"
Yu Hanjiang pinched his brow, looking troubled. "Let's wait until Ninth Brother comes back. We can't guess anything right now."
...
At the same time, in the command room of the Arrow-class warship.
Lu Jiuchuan braced his hands on the table, staring intently at the navigation on the virtual LCD screen in front of him: "We're about to pass through the Aquarius constellation, and then we'll have to perform a space jump... What does that mean?"
Tang Ci pushed his wheelchair to the screen and explained, "Escape from the gravity of one galaxy and instantly jump to another; this can be understood as space travel."
Lu Jiuchuan chuckled and touched his nose: "Well, anyway, after we jump to the Gemini constellation, we'll reach Capital Star soon. Then we'll try to rendezvous with Hanjiang."
Tang Ci suddenly asked, "Don't you feel like something's wrong?"
Lu Jiuchuan turned to look at him: "What?"
Tang Ci frowned, looking puzzled. "In my memory, I only remember that my legs were injured in a previous battle, but I can't recall any details of the battle or how I got injured. What about you?"
Lu Jiuchuan's expression gradually turned serious: "...Me too."
Tang Ci asked, "So, what exactly are we doing traveling all this way to outer space?"
Lu Jiuchuan searched his memory carefully, but still couldn't recall anything. He pressed his temples, his head aching: "I only remember having a meal with my brother half a year ago after returning to Capital Star. He asked me where I was going on this mission, and I answered him that I was going to carry out a secret mission for the military—but I can't remember any of the details of the mission."
Tang Ci was even more puzzled: "So, is it because the mission wasn't important that the Guardian didn't give us any details... or is it because the mission was too important that we were affected in some way during the mission and lost crucial memories?"
There is a fundamental difference between the two.
If it's an insignificant mission, Guardian might be too lazy to provide details and gloss over it, so they don't need to delve into it. But what if it's the latter? Their lost memory of the "secret mission" could very well affect whether the team can ultimately escape the interstellar chamber.
The two frowned and fell into deep thought, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't recall anything about the mission.
Lu Jiuchuan felt as if an electric drill was constantly churning inside his brain. His head was throbbing, and something seemed to be about to emerge from his memory, but it was blocked by a thick barrier, like a seedling about to break through the soil encountering an iron plate. His face was pale, and he clenched his fists and pounded his head hard.
Tang Ci gently pulled his arm: "Don't think about it for now. Anything that has happened will leave clues. We two don't have memories, but aren't there other people in the legion?"
Lu Jiuchuan's eyes lit up: "Yes, ask the others."
He picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered all officers of major rank and above to assemble in the command room.
Soon, five officers in black uniforms marched into the command room in neat steps and saluted Lu Jiuchuan in unison: "General!"
Lu Jiuchuan asked, "What special mission are we on this time?"
The five people looked at each other, all with blank expressions.
Lu Jiuchuan: "Don't you know, or can't you remember?"
One of the blond officers, Knox, said bluntly, "Reporting, General, I can't remember!" The others chimed in, "Where are we going?" "I think it's a patrol?" "The patrol is in the first half of the year, isn't it?"
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance—something was wrong.
If it were truly an insignificant mission, Guardian wouldn't have gone to such lengths; they could have simply set up a scenario where Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci were accidentally injured by the Space Pirates or ambushed by alien creatures...
Instead of everyone forgetting.
Were their memories erased? Why does this give me a splitting headache every time it's mentioned?
Lu Jiuchuan took a deep breath and whispered in Tang Ci's ear, "Go back to Capital Star and investigate at the military headquarters. Since we received the mission from the military, headquarters must have left clues."
Tang Ci also agreed to do so, since everyone was collectively playing the amnesia card, and they had no way to find out from other places.
******