The director had heard what Lucas said as well, and the General’s bluntness left the old man stunned for quite some time.
“This…”
The elderly man recovered himself and said, “It’s like this. We suspect there may have been a problem with the sample.”
“How does your research institute even do its job?” Lucas said unhappily. “We handed the sample over to you, and you tested it. It’s that simple. How could there possibly be a problem?”
“It may have gone wrong during the transfer process. It’s also possible that someone switched the sample while we were conducting the test, but the latter possibility is very small. Our institute activated an A-level alert as soon as we received the sample, and our security system is extremely strict.”
The director continued, “At this point, we can only investigate every possibility one by one.”
The captain immediately added, “There’s even less chance that something went wrong during the handover! After I took it from the General, it never left my possession. After that, I personally watched as the sample was handed over to the director.”
The director frowned slightly.
“I’ll investigate the surveillance footage and everyone who entered and left the laboratory over the past two days.”
Lucas said, “Find out as quickly as possible!”
Luo Ran paused, then stepped forward and said to Lucas,
“General, even if something went wrong with the DNA, it doesn’t matter. There are other avenues of investigation, such as the hotel. There are more clues there anyway. DNA is ultimately too limited on its own.”
Please, just let this sample go already, Luo Ran thought.
In the end, this trip had yielded absolutely nothing. If the research institute couldn’t find anything, then this lead would be cut off completely.
“Just who could switch the sample without anyone noticing?”
On the way back, Lucas said, “Looks like this isn’t as simple as I thought.”
The captain sat in the front. Only Luo Ran and Lucas were in the back seat, and Luo Ran was taking advantage of the time to read through official documents.
Lucas sneered.
“I’m actually getting more and more interested. Just who is that person? How dare they set me up like this? Until I find them, I’m not letting this go.”
“Luo Ran, are you listening to me?”
Luo Ran lowered his eyes and gave a quiet “Mm.”
He was still holding the official documents in his hands. He smiled and said,
“General, there’s no need to worry. There will always be a solution.”
Lucas paused.
“Mm.”
After they returned to the company, Luo Ran initially thought there was nothing else to worry about.
But he was suddenly summoned to an emergency meeting.
—The Falling-Ice Kingdom had sent over a new mineral sample.
Speaking of this mineral, Lucas had originally only been a general who went onto the battlefield and managed the Imperial military.
Later, Lucas led the Empire in defeating the surrounding small countries that had been restless and watching them covetously. One of them was the Falling-Ice Kingdom.
As its name suggested, Falling-Ice was winter all year round. Its entire territory was covered in ice and snow, and food shortages were a constant problem. This had been one of the reasons they had gone to war in the first place.
Lucas conquered this frozen land. Later, under instructions from the Imperial government and the Round Table, he established a logistics company.
Falling-Ice lacked food, while the technologically advanced Empire lacked fuel.
And Falling-Ice was rich in ice ore.
Once the ice ore mined from the ice caves was transported to the Empire, it could be refined into precious fuel that could be used by factories, machinery, and mechas throughout the Empire. Its value was extraordinary.
Thus, Lucas’s company was responsible for transporting money, ice ore, and food between the two countries.
This company was less a company than an armed force. It had been merged with Lucas’s army and the military department. To prevent the cargo from being robbed by space pirates along the way, or to guard against any tricks Falling-Ice might try to pull, everything was escorted by the military.
It could be said that this was the lifeline of both Falling-Ice and the Empire.
A lifeline protected by the Empire’s strongest sword and shield—Lucas.
“The research institute in Falling-Ice has named this sample UNK01.”
A fat man was standing at the front of the conference room, holding a stack of documents as he gave his presentation.
Unknown 01—a newly discovered mineral excavated from an ice cave. It might bring with it even more unknown possibilities.
On the projection screen was an irregularly shaped stone with a smooth, gleaming surface. It was silver-white, like a block of ice. But unlike the other ice ores, this UNK01 also had blood-red patterns running through it, making it look both eerie and beautiful.
Lucas sat in the main seat with his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other, frowning slightly as he looked at the stone.
Luo Ran asked, “Has this sample already been sent to the Empire?”
“Yes. It’s expected to arrive at the research institute the day after tomorrow. The Falling-Ice ambassador will also be bringing an expert team, along with Her Royal Highness the Princess and His Royal Highness the Prince.”
“…The two Highnesses?”
What are they coming here for? Luo Ran wondered.
The minister paused before answering,
“To arrange a marriage alliance with the General.”
“…”
BANG—!
Lucas slammed his hand on the table and roared,
“Say that again?!”
The muscles on the minister’s face twitched. On the verge of tears, he looked helplessly toward Luo Ran for rescue.
Luo Ran asked, “Why does Falling-Ice suddenly want a marriage alliance?”
“Um… the Falling-Ice ambassador hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m not sure either.”
“Tell those two Highnesses to get the hell back home.”
Lucas said coldly, “I’m not a garbage dump.”
The minister opened his mouth, then once again looked helplessly at Luo Ran.
Luo Ran calmly said, “The General is right. What the General means is that he isn’t someone Falling-Ice can casually send people to just because they want to obtain some benefit. In any case, we should wait until the ambassador and his delegation arrive and discuss everything properly before making a decision. The Empire has its own strength and dignity.”
Minister: “Yes! Understood!”
Lucas paused.
Was that what I meant?
It probably was.
After the meeting ended, it was nighttime again, and Luo Ran naturally had to stay overnight.
The white tea incense in the room had been replenished. The air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature, and Lucas’s pheromones lingered throughout the air.
Everything was comfortable, even though Luo Ran kept trying his best not to become too immersed in it.
Luo Ran sat on the sofa, reading through some documents and arranging the next day’s schedule before going to bed.
After reading through several of them, he suddenly smelled the scent of machine oil coming from the bathroom.
Luo Ran paused. He had a pretty good idea what Lucas was doing.
“General.”
Luo Ran gently closed the document.
“Would you like me to help? It might be inconvenient for you to do it yourself.”
“Sure.”
Luo Ran had Lucas sit to one side while he took the bottle of machine oil.
Lucas hadn’t even started yet. He had only just opened the cap.
He glanced at Luo Ran and removed his gloves.
Lucas always wore black leather gloves. They went perfectly with the military uniforms he wore every time, and everyone had long since grown accustomed to them.
But the truth was that Lucas couldn’t really take them off either.
Now, without the fabric covering them, his hands were visibly mutilated.
The index and middle fingers of his left hand were missing, replaced by silver mechanical fingers. The implanted mechanical joints were clearly visible and could still be controlled to some degree by their owner.
His right hand was even worse. The last three fingers were mechanical.
There were also old burn scars covering the backs and palms of his hands. It was obvious that he had lost those fingers because of the burns.
This was one of the injuries he had sustained on the battlefield.
Luo Ran had never asked about it or tried to investigate how it had happened.
Luo Ran dabbed some machine oil onto a cloth and carefully wiped each of Lucas’s mechanical fingers, lubricating and maintaining them.
His movements were extremely gentle. His expression was focused and serious, and he was careful not to touch Lucas’s skin. After all, Lucas didn’t like physical contact with other people.
When Lucas lowered his head slightly, he could see Luo Ran’s soft, long silver hair and slender eyelashes. There was even a small beauty mark at the corner of his eye. His thin lips were lightly pursed from concentration, as though he were holding his breath.
His secretary was always this serious no matter what he was doing.
“There’s no need,” Lucas said. “It doesn’t hurt.”
Luo Ran gave a soft “Mm.”
Luo Ran was the one who maintained and oiled Lucas’s weapons and mechas. He had long since become skilled at it. This wasn’t even the first time he had helped Lucas like this.
Yet every time, he still couldn’t help feeling nervous and taking extra care.
After a while, every mechanical finger had been oiled, gleaming brightly.
Luo Ran stood up and stepped back several paces.
“Done.”
Lucas flopped down onto the bed, preparing to rest.
Luo Ran was still reading documents. There was only a little left, and he didn’t want to leave it until tomorrow.
Lucas frowned slightly.
“Sleep.”
“Mm, okay. I’m just missing one report from the hotel manager.”
Luo Ran said, “It’s about the hotel surveillance issue.”
The moment he heard that, Lucas was no longer sleepy. He shot upright and angrily said,
“Not a single camera caught anything? They were all broken?”
“Yes.”
Luo Ran shook his head.
“There’s no way to trace it through the surveillance anymore. We’re preparing to investigate the drinks instead.”
After all, Lucas had been drugged. It could have been something in his drink, or something in his food.
Luo Ran asked, “Do you remember what you ate or drank that day, General?”
“No.”
Lucas could remember every tiny detail on the battlefield, but in everyday life, his memory had always been poor. He could even forget what he had eaten the previous day, let alone remember everything he had casually eaten and drunk at the banquet that night.
The next day, when the investigation department came to Lucas asking for clues, he couldn’t provide them with anything particularly useful either.
“Ah…”
Luo Ran said helplessly, “You really don’t remember anything that happened that day?”
Lucas sat on the bed and frowned, thinking for a moment.
Then he got up and walked to the door.
“Come here.”
“……?”
Bang—!
Luo Ran had barely reached the door when Lucas grabbed him by the shoulder and wrist and pinned him against the door.
“General…!”
Luo Ran was startled, only to see the man behind him lean closer.
The two of them were extremely close. Luo Ran’s nose was filled with that familiar scent of tobacco, destroying his nerves one by one.
The scent on Lucas wasn’t the harsh smell of cigarette smoke, but the rich fragrance of tobacco leaves—the earthy, domineering scent of tobacco before it was burned.
The smell was heavy and intense, spicy yet carrying a bitter sweetness, just like the man himself. It clearly warned people not to approach, yet somehow made them unable to resist drawing closer, even becoming a little addicted.
Like strong liquor that had just been boiled, like gunpowder smoke, like ancient wood—the man’s hormones made Luo Ran feel almost unable to stand.
“Let me think… Let me think.”
Lucas had Luo Ran trapped between his body and the door, frowning as he seriously tried to recall and reenact the events of that night.
That night, it seemed that he and that person had struggled together by the door for a while?
Lucas said, “Don’t move.”
He thought that perhaps he could try reenacting everything once and see if he could remember any clues.
Luo Ran: “…”