Chapter 39: The Admiral Opens the Door to a New World

The hovercar started up and drove towards the military headquarters.

Inside, Lucas fixated his stare on Luo Ran, doggedly waiting for an answer.

Luo Ran rubbed his temples, wondering what Lucas was up to now.

“If that really happens, then… I can only be a secretary for someone else.”

Lucas: ???

Luo Ran touched his chin. “The conditions at the eldest prince’s don’t seem to be too bad.”

Lucas: “…”

Luo Ran smiled and said, “Otherwise, the second prince is fine too. And don’t forget the third prince, it must be very relaxing to work for him.”

A vein on Lucas’ forehead throbbed.

After thinking for a moment, Luo Ran continued, “Or… I can just find someone to marry.”

Bang——

Lucas was subconsciously about to grasp Luo Ran’s wrist, but when he saw his wound, he immediately braked and grabbed his collar instead.

“You dare!”

Luo Ran, who was pressed into his chair by his collar, blatantly smiled up at Lucas. “Then Admiral should work harder and not die.”

“You just wait, I won’t die even if everyone else dies,” Lucas sneered.

Luo Ran lowered his eyes. “Good.”

Soon, the hovercar arrived at the military headquarters, where Lucas and Luo Ran immediately devoted themselves to organising the troops.

They would set off in two days, and following that, the two of them would move separately.

This was the first time Luo Ran would accompany Lucas on an expedition. After he informed his family, he had to work overtime at the company to ensure that things wouldn’t come crashing down while they were gone. As a result, he got less than seven hours of sleep for the last two nights.

* * *

Two days later, the army officially set off in the morning.

Luo Ran stood at a window on the battleship as he watched the scenery outside change into an endless starry expanse.

It was the first time he left the Empire, and the first time he left solid earth for space.

When he looked at the Empire’s battleships in the past, he felt that they were tremendously powerful, and he couldn’t help but admire their designers and builders.

But when compared to the vast interstellar space, the battleship, as well as their own selves, were very, very small.

Luo Ran watched as the Empire planet gradually diminished, then they entered the hyperlane.

The hyperlane was a long tunnel. All around, Luo Ran could see stars, nebulae, and many scenes that he’d previously only read about.

“Does it look good?” Lucas, who wore a military uniform, stopped next to Luo Ran and smiled. “It’ll look better later.”

Luo Ran nodded.

As they stood in front of the window, Luo Ran thought, so this is the world Lucas sees every time.

He imagined roaming the stars in a mecha — would he feel even more insignificant?

Luo Ran heard that many people in the army had to overcome their fear of open space before they could become official soldiers, otherwise, they would feel fear and dizziness when stationed here.

“Scared?” Lucas pointed at the stars outside.

“It’s okay,” Luo Ran said, smiling. “I think… it’s very beautiful. Maybe it’s because I’m in a battleship, and there are many people beside me.”

“It’s because I’m here,” Lucas corrected him.

Luo Ran chuckled.

Then Luo Ran understood what Lucas meant by ‘it’ll look better’.

The hyperlane suddenly crossed the path of a gorgeously psychedelic nebula. Its purples and blues blended together harmoniously, as if a painter was mixing watercolours. Hidden within the cloud were countless eyes — or rather, glistening stars.

Luo Ran was a little absentminded as he watched.

Lucas grinned and put an arm around Luo Ran’s shoulders. The two stood together at the window, accompanied by an ethereal starscape outside.

Lu Cheng and Wang Qiuyang originally wanted to find Lucas to discuss their plans, but seeing this scene, Wang Qiuyang — a fully grown man — couldn’t hold back his urge to lift his terminal and snap a picture of their backs.

The two noticed movement. Lucas turned around and asked, “What?”

“Admiral, we’ve almost arrived,” Wang Qiuyang said.

The hyperlane terminated inside the nebula, where they would take the opportunity to stealthily divide into two teams.

Lucas’ team would start their detour from the southwest hyperlane, take a hidden path, and quietly lurk near the southeast hyperlane where the UNK would pass, in preparation for ambushing interstellar pirates.

And Luo Ran would take the remaining troops and warships to continue along the southwest hyperlane, heading towards B67.

Lucas announced that he would exterminate pirates at B67. With Luo Ran there, everyone would believe that Lucas was also on the battleship at B67, when in reality, he had long gone elsewhere.

“Hn.” Lucas nodded, and said, “You two, stay with Luo Ran.”

“Yes sir!” This matter had already been discussed before they left, and the two adjutants had no opinions on it.

On the other hand, Luo Ran was surprised. “Admiral, Adjutant Wang and Adjutant Lu are your left and right hands, you should take them with you.”

“Shh,” Lucas said, “it’s decided.”

“Admiral…” Luo Ran frowned slightly.

“Inside the Empire, we’ll listen to you. Out here, listen to me, okay?” Lucas asked.

Wang Qiuyang and Lu Cheng, who were still present, didn’t plan to intervene. Lucas’ tone was relatively low, and Luo Ran could only agree.*

Soon afterwards, the battleship left the hyperlane, and the brigade was about to depart.

Before he left, Lucas took off his coat and draped it over Luo Ran, to his surprise.

“Don’t take it off,” Lucas said, “If anything happens, tell me using your terminal, and wait for me to come back.”

The coat was covered in Lucas’ emblems and insignias. Luo Ran knew exactly what he meant by doing this.

Luo Ran lowered his eyes and smiled. “Okay.”

After this, Lucas turned and strode away.

As Luo Ran looked at Lucas’ back while breathing in a strong earthy tobacco scent from the coat on his shoulders, a somewhat peculiar feeling arose in his heart.

Lucas was completely different from his usual state.

The Lucas in his office was unorganised, irritable, impatient, and even reckless. Maybe it was because he was used to licking blood off knives that he didn’t bother to think deeply when he was in a relatively safe environment, and just did whatever he wanted.

Not to mention, there was Luo Ran.

But in this place, Lucas put away all his capriciousness in favour of showing a lion’s sharp fangs.

Steady yet courageous, strong yet astute, he was perfect in every aspect.

Here, he used everything in his power to protect Luo Ran.

It was only when he couldn’t see Lucas at all that Luo Ran looked away.

He turned to the two adjutants who were still waiting for orders with a smile. “Let’s go to the control room.”

The control room monitored the entire battleship, and had a large map projected on a screen. Luo Ran confirmed their route against it and the adjutants.

According to the plan, they would reach the transfer station outside B67 by noon the next day, and could officially land on B67 by evening.

There weren’t particularly many pirates on B67, and they must have run after getting the news, but the Empire would still send elites to chase down as many as they could.

It was Luo Ran’s first time leading an army to hunt interstellar pirates. Although he was smart and capable, he still lacked experience, so during the meeting, he was very humble and didn’t offer many opinions. He only listened and concentrated on analysing what the adjutants and captains said.

Luo Ran was already quite popular in the military. After all, he worked for so many years to clear away obstacles for Lucas when he was off the battlefield, and managed military affairs properly. Now, with him having such a good attitude, everyone treated him very well. On the one hand, they wanted to protect the admiral’s wife, and on the other, they were convinced of his ability and obedient to him.

And…

Luo Ran still wore Lucas’ coat.

It was a coat that symbolised an identity. Perhaps Lucas was worried that someone would hinder Luo Ran when he gave orders, so he left this coat as both a reminder and a warning — they had to take Luo Ran as Lucas himself.

The admiral is so concerned.

Oh, it’s truly a wonderful love.

–The Empire’s soldiers all said.

* * *

After the meeting finished and he took care of all his paperwork, Luo Ran went back to his room.

Luo Ran hadn’t slept well for the last few days, but when he fell onto the soft bed, he couldn’t fall asleep.

It seemed that he stayed up too many times, and his body hadn’t reacted yet.

Luo Ran could only turn to his terminal to watch a few videos, listen to a few songs, and let his mind relax.

As soon as he logged in, he found that the CP group and forum were very lively, as if it was New Year.

Luo Ran frowned slightly. He’d been busy with work these days and hadn’t gone to some amusement park with Lucas like last time, so this…?

@Lu Cheng the Adjutant: Everyone, thank you for your blessings! The wedding photos are almost done, I’ll send them to you later! Now I’m also someone with a family, I don’t need to be stuffed with dog food by the two bosses wuwuwu! A few days ago, the admiral fell into a rut, and Secretary Luo personally stayed with him all night! Ah, what a wonderful love!

@One Tender Blossom: wuwuwu As an insider at the Imperial Company,* I can’t help but blush when I see the secretary these days! It’s too exciting (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) The secretary’s lips are all torn, he’s hurt really bad, I feel so distressed but also can’t help being excited! Admiral, you have to control your strength! You can’t bully our Secretary Luo ahhhhh a wonderful love!

@XXXX: I am a low-level employee of the Imperial Company, it must be the blessing of my last three lifetimes for me to be able to glimpse the Empire’s secrets! It happened yesterday, right in the company’s kitchen! When Secretary Luo’s coffee beans fell and he bent over to pick it up, I saw that his tightly-covered neck was bright red (!!) and covered in tooth marks (!!!). Heavens, it’s a wonderful love!

@XXXX: I am a member of the Imperial Guard* who was fortunate enough to follow His Highness the Third Prince to the agricultural area! I witnessed the admiral and the secretary’s wonderful love with my own eyes. At a remote area, they acted very close — the admiral covered the secretary with his jacket, then the secretary pulled the admiral in, they must have kissed in there! Later, when they had enough love and stumbled into a hovercar, the admiral seemed unsteady on his legs!

Oh, they must’ve used tongue.

What a wonderful love.

@XXXX: I am a transporter, I’ll explain! In conclusion, the admiral is in rut, couldn’t help but have fun with the secretary in the outskirts, then the two spent a night together! The next day, the secretary’s lips were torn and his body was full of marks! (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) A wonderful love!

Luo Ran: “…”

If he read any more, he’d almost believe that he and Lucas were a couple.

But there were also some posts that made Luo Ran happy.

[Pinned] Thread to pray for the admiral

[Pinned] Pray for the admiral and the secretary, hope the trip to B647 goes well

Inside, they were filled with blessings, as well as photos of the many cranes* everyone folded.

It was a tradition in the Empire to fold paper cranes for friends and family, whether that be for travel, for examinations, for interviews… people used a thousand cranes to symbolise blessings.

Therefore, every time Lucas went to war, the Empire’s citizens would fold and hang up countless cranes.

Every time the battleship of the Empire’s admiral lifted off, it was accompanied by millions of colourful paper cranes.

Luo Ran smiled and gave the post a like, then watched some short videos to relax.

* * *

On the other side, Lucas was about to arrive at his destination, so he didn’t plan to sleep, and instead spent his time chatting with Shen Xiluo on the bridge.

However, neither of them liked to talk much, so they mostly sat together doing their own things.

Lucas, bored out of his mind, opened his terminal to take a look at what Luo Ran was doing recently. He directly used his backend access to see Luo Ran’s search history.

[Coffee Beans from Ancient Earth’s Spain, Have You Heard of This?]

[Tie Your Ties This Way!]

[Secrets of Spice: Stabilising Spiritual Power]

[Simple Food Can Be Delicious Too! Easy Cooking, Flavourful Taste!]

Still looking at these girly things, Lucas thought, his preferences really haven’t changed.

Boring.

* * *

Wait.

Lucas frowned slightly and took a closer look.

Why did he feel…

At Lucas’ serious frown, as if he were reading a secret report, Shen Xiluo also turned his head curiously.

He clearly saw Lucas log into the forums, right?

“Shen Xiluo, look.” Lucas showed him Luo Ran’s browsing records.

After reading for a few seconds, Shen Xiluo shook his head. “Secretary Luo takes care of you a lot.”

With his thoughts confirmed, Lucas touched his chin and grinned. “I also think so. Tsk, what a sticky guy.”

Shen Xiluo pushed up his glasses and said flatly, “Those omega and beta all love sticking to the alpha they like, just get used to it.”

“Geez. How annoying,” Lucas snorted.

But his laugh implied something very different.

Lucas raised his chin. “This secretary of mine, he’s not independent enough, always circling around me. It really makes me worried. He even came over when I fell into rut and thought of everything for me. It’s one thing to do it at work, but even the videos he watches after work is for me, that’s not very good, he has to think for himself.”

Shen Xiluo: “…”

He didn’t know why, but he felt that this was unbearable to listen to.

And watching the way Lucas’ tail was about to reach the sky,* something in his mouth tasted very sour.*

However, a good relationship between the admiral and his secretary was also good for the Empire, so Shen Xiluo only pushed his glasses up again and, keeping his rationality, said, “There’s no way, as alpha, we need to be more forgiving, and be patient and attentive to our beta or omega. At the same time, we need to improve our skills so that we can be a perfect husband.”

“Skills?” Lucas raised his eyebrow.

Shen Xiluo smoothly took out his terminal and navigated to a website with a black interface and a yellow rectangle for a logo.

“You can use the biggest same-sex dating website to learn how to please your beta or omega — it’s all based on science — and contribute to the next generation of the Empire.” Shen Xiluo clicked on an alpha x beta video.

Lucas: “…”

In all his life, Lucas never expected that he and Shen Xiluo would, on the bridge of a battleship, watch… this kind of video.

Lucas thought, ah, I’m dirty.

He was dirtied once again.

This time, he meant a dirty mind.

He’d also opened a strange door.

Author:
He’s here, he’s here, he’s here with his film!

Shen Xiluo: My character gradually changed from an elite doctor to a movie peddler. For the sake of the Empire’s excellent next generation, I’ve sacrificed so much [lights cigarette]

Translator:
I’ve spent two solid hours trying to work out the military units/sizes the author used by cross-referencing with US/UK/NATO military organisation, and you know what? I don’t care anymore. It’s hard enough doing it in English, but add in another language plus a (made up!!) country’s ranks, and I can spend another day arguing with myself whether to use this word or that. So you, my dear readers, get generic ‘army’ and ‘brigade’, don’t bother trying to get a sense of exactly how many people are counted in there.

Footnotes:

Not sure what’s the relationship here but that’s what the raws saySo is ‘the company’ an (or the official)  imperial company under the imperial family’s name? That’s certainly what 帝国公司 is implying. But Lucas isn’t an imperial family member? I’m so confusedA Japanese folk legend (千羽鶴 senbazuru, lit. 1000 cranes) states that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will receive a wish granted by the gods. The cranes are often given to people who are seriously ill to wish for their recovery, to athletes to wish them victory, and are often present at war memorials as a symbol of peace.Tail reaching the sky [尾巴都要翘起来]: idiom for being very proud/smugSour [酸涩]: jealousy is represented by vinegar in Chinese netizen slang, hence the many memes about chugging vinegar/being a vinegar jar/feeling sour

Paper cranes hanging from strings