Chapter 75: The Admiral And The Fireworks

Rong Duo swore that she didn’t really mean it, but when Luo Ran walked out of the office, she couldn’t help but take a glance at him.

The corners of Luo Ran’s mouth and lips were red, and the blush on his cheeks had not completely faded away.

Ao-wu!

Rong Duo quickly lowered her head and covered her face in shame.

Rong Duo thought very simply, the Admiral must have kissed too hard!

Luo Ran strode to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, and then washed his face with clean water, not only to clean it, but to give himself more energy and concentration. After all, today’s workload was heavy.

Sigh……

Luo Ran held himself up on the glazed sink with his hands, adjusting his breathing.

Lucas was the person he liked, and was also his Alpha. It took a lot of effort for him to calm himself down and stop messing around with Lucas.

His throat that had just been hydrated felt a little hot now, and the heat spread to his cheeks, neck, and limbs again.

Luo Ran turned on the tap again and washed his face.

He stood there for quite a long time.

He was now beginning to understand the concerns of his parents and brother.

Indeed, there were no expectations in the past. They were just an ordinary boss and subordinate, and Luo Ran would set a limit for himself.

He would not think too much, nor would he be too attached.

But now……

How could he not yearn for Lucas?

When Luo Ran was sitting on Lucas’s lap before, he almost said: “How about you don’t go?” Upon realizing his own thoughts, he immediately felt annoyed and guilty.

What he should do was lighten the burden for Lucas and take care of the department and logistics for him so that he had no worries, rather than become an extra burden.

Luo Ran took a deep breath, dried his face, and straightened his collar before going out.

. . . . . . .

Early the next morning, Luo Ran once again watched Lucas’s tall figure board the aircraft.

Lucas was away for four days. During these four days, other than a call before battle, Lucas had no contact with him. It could be assumed that the war was very dire.

And in the past few days, the government’s investigations had also made great progress.

His Royal Highness Zhou Mingyu, the First Prince of the Empire, had indeed embezzled funds for the military base on Apollo.

Now, Zhou Mingyu’s image had completely collapsed.

He had been delaying the start of the trial, but hadn’t done anything other than this so far. For the time being, Luo Ran couldn’t figure out what the other party intended to do.

On this day, Luo Ran got the court to sign a confirmation that the testimony of the military department would be guaranteed.

When Luo Ran went there, he met Zhou Mingkai, who was standing outside and leaning against the wall, looking at him in a very depressed mood.

Just like a stray dog.

This was natural. Firstly, the elder brother he admired had suddenly become connected to terrible things, and secondly…..Lu Bei had also resigned.

“Third Highness.” Luo Ran stepped forward to greet him. “Why are you here?”

“Ah…..I came to find Lu Bei. He accompanied Yuan Han here.” Zhou Mingkai was stubborn and obstinate. He scratched the back of his head and said: “Are you concerned about your former subordinate?”

“En.” Luo Ran nodded.

“But Secretary Luo……” Zhou Mingkai said: “You look really unhappy.”

“Ah…..?” Luo Ran said: “I’m not.”

“You do, ah.” Zhou Mingkai grinned and said: “Are you thinking about the Admiral?”

“How could this be? It’s not the first time the Admiral has gone to war.” Luo Ran smiled and changed the subject: “The Third Highness seems to be even more unhappy.”

“Pei, I’m really not.” Zhou Mingkai smiled. “No one is controlling me now that Lu Bei is gone. I’m so happy, ah, haha.”

Luo Ran: “…….”

Luo Ran patted Zhou Mingkai on the shoulder.

Zhou Mingkai looked at Luo Ran and his reassuring gesture, paused for a moment, but still went on to make an exaggeratedly downcast expression.

“Wuwuwu…..” Zhou Mingkai squatted down and hugged his head, saying: “I made plans with him to go to the moon to participate in the Alliance Sports Competition, how did it become like this now, ah? Wuwuwu, I bought the tickets, but he’s avoiding me now.”

“Who the fuck can think of my big brother…..ah, I don’t know if it’s true, how troublesome, ah.”

Zhou Mingkai had been holding back these days, but now when he was comforted by Luo Ran’s warm voice, he couldn’t hold back his wailing and howling. The scene of a tall Alpha with reddened eyes blubbering was very eye-catching.

Luo Ran felt both distressed and amused, and crouched down to pat Zhou Mingkai’s shoulder lightly.

“What kind of suffering is this, ah!” Zhou Mingkai howled.

Luo Ran said comfortingly: “It’s okay, there will be more sports competitions. You can talk to Mr. Lu again once this turmoil is over.”

“There won’t be more.” Zhou Mingkai said pitifully: “The sports competition is held every five years. He’s not talking to me now, and I don’t know if he will acknowledge me after five years.”

After Luo Ran coaxed him for a long time, he couldn’t help but turn on the mirror function of his terminal to look at his face after returning.

Was it really that bad…..?

Luo Ran hesitated for a long moment, then clicked on Lucas’s name on the terminal.

— Is the Admiral all right?

When Luo Ran finished typing the line, he immediately deleted it.

Sitting in front of his desk, Luo Ran suddenly remembered Zhou Mingkai’s mention of the Alliance Sports Competition.

Every five years. The last time happened to be in his second year as Lucas’s secretary, but…..

Luo Ran suddenly discovered a terrible thing. Why did he not have any impression of it?

Logically speaking, the Alliance Sports Competition was a very grand event. For example, there were advertisements everywhere now.

Frowning, Luo Ran clicked on the historical usage records of his terminal.

Luo Ran waited for the system to run for a long moment, and it finally launched the activity report from five years ago.

He looked down slowly. The system had recorded his work records from January to March, but starting from April…..

It was blank..

Blank through December.

In January of the following year, the terminal resumed operations.

What had happened?

Luo Ran tried his utmost to make a connection, but found that he had indeed lost his memory of those nine months, and the memories from before and after were not clear.

He frowned slightly.

Luo Ran felt terrible. He had lost so many memories, such as what had happened before he was adopted, and those inexplicable nine months.

He was presently working as Lucas’s secretary, so Luo Ran decided to look for clues from Lucas.

Luo Ran sent a call request to Lu Cheng.

“Secretary Luo?” Lu Cheng’s hearty voice came from the other end of the phone.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Okay!”

Luo Ran said: “Do you still remember what the Admiral was doing five years ago, the year of the Alliance Sports Competition?”

“…….”

There was a sudden silence on the terminal.

Luo Ran felt even stranger, but he couldn’t see Lu Cheng’s expression at the moment and couldn’t judge what was going on.

He asked again: “Adjutant Lu? Do you remember?”

“Ah, this, I don’t remember.”

Luo Ran frowned slightly.

After a moment, Luo Ran said: “Adjutant Lu, is there anything I shouldn’t know?”

“No! Absolutely not! It’s just……” Lu Cheng seemed very embarrassed, and could only say: “Well, when the Admiral comes back, can’t you ask him yourself?”

“…….”

“It’s really not a secret, but…..ah, just, I don’t know if I can say it!”

“…….”

Luo Ran didn’t make things difficult for Lu Cheng, and said with a smile: “It’s okay, I understand.”

Luo Ran hung up, thinking that he would ask Lucas and see what he had to say.

In fact…..he didn’t completely have no impression.

Luo Ran tried hard to think while flipping through the terminal for the before and after records, and recalled some intermittent images. He vaguely remembered that there were many wisteria flowers and a very cute log cabin.

Wisteria flowers……

With a slight frown, Luo Ran subconsciously glanced at the wisteria flowers by the office window.

He rested his chin on his hand, somewhat lost in thought.

New Year’s Eve was two days away.

. . . . . .

Luo Ran went home to have dinner with his family for the New Year.

It was presently snowing in the capital, but snow here generally didn’t last long.

Near midnight, the Empire’s Central Plaza began to broadcast the countdown.

There were thirty minutes to go.

Luo Ran was holding the terminal while sitting on the recliner on the balcony at home, wearing thick clothes and watching the night sky.

The originally drab night sky was now full of slowly falling snow, and a thin layer had accumulated on the ground and the balcony railings.

He didn’t bother Lucas, but still carried the terminal.

“Ranran, you…..” Wang Zitong glanced at Luo Ran and stepped forward to rub his shoulder, saying: “It’s the same for the Admiral…..it’s not long after you got together…..”

“Mom, it’s okay.” Luo Ran held up the terminal to show her. “I’m watching videos for fun.”

“En.” Wang Zitong glanced at him and said: “Go to sleep early.”

“Okay.”

Many relatives had come to the house, and Wang Zitong went downstairs to play cards with them.

Luo Ran was a little ashamed.

Could it be that…..he was really acting distraught and concerned?

But he wasn’t doing it on purpose. And presuming he didn’t care, his body and pheromones may not be able to accept it for a while.

Lucas had given him temporary marks, they had made a spiritual connection, and Lucas also used his pheromones as an antidote when Luo Ran was having spiritual problems.

And since the temporary marking, they had been staying close, their pheromones always fusing together intimately.

Luo Ran thought, fortunately there was no official mark yet. If there was a permanent mark, his body may be even more uncomfortable.

Luo Ran watched videos for a while, and then there were only ten minutes left on the countdown.

He exited the video and looked at the night sky quietly.

Ten minutes later, the sky would be covered with gorgeous fireworks, and would look extremely beautiful.

When only five minutes were left, Luo Ran’s terminal rang.

Startled, Luo Ran opened it.

— Lucas.

A smile appeared on Luo Ran’s face, and he accepted the call.

“Ranran,” Lucas said in a low voice. “What are you doing?”

Luo Ran chuckled: “Waiting for the countdown and the fireworks.”

The other side was silent for a moment, then said: “Open the video screen.”

Luo Ran paused, then did so.

He saw Lucas on the small screen.

Lucas seemed to have just come from battle not long ago. His military uniform was a bit dirty, and there was a fierce look in his eyes that had not yet receded.

“Sorry,” Lucas said. “I had originally agreed to spend the New Year with you.”

“It’s okay, I’ll adjust the camera after the fireworks start, and we can watch them together.” Luo Ran’s eyes contained a smile. “There are only three minutes left.”

“Okay.”

Lucas seemed a little tired and quiet, so they didn’t speak, and just accompanied each other silently.

Lucas changed clothes in his room on the battleship and quickly washed his face.

“Ten! Nine! Eight!”

The countdown in the Central Plaza began, and was broadcasted everywhere in real time.

“Seven! Six!”

. . . . . .

“Three! Two!”

“One!”

Fireworks shot into the sky, and everything went from dim to bright for a while.

Luo Ran watched the fireworks and said: “Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.” Lucas paused, then suddenly said: “Luo Ran, I love you.”

Lucas’s tone was very gentle when he said this, and it was hard to imagine that he would have such a soft tone.

This was also the first time Lucas had said such words that he considered “sappy.”

Luo Ran stared blankly at the terminal, sitting there on the spot.

Lucas was a little embarrassed after speaking, and scratched the back of his head, saying: “Ai, anyway, that’s all. What time are you going to bed?”

“I…..later.” Luo Ran blushed slightly. He grasped the terminal tightly, and finally conceded.

“Admiral, I miss you very much.”

Now it was Lucas’s turn to freeze.

“I’m really sorry.” Luo Ran lowered his eyes with a smile. “But I’m going to do everything well.”

“I…..” Lucas said hoarsely: “I will also fight hard and bring victory to the Empire and to you!”

“Good.”

The fireworks were still going on, but Lucas fell asleep within a short while after lying down. It could be seen that he was truly exhausted. He didn’t even have time to say goodnight, and fell asleep holding the terminal.

Luo Ran paused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and turned off the call.

At that moment, Luo Ran lowered his head and kissed the screen of the terminal.

. . . . . . 

The next day, Luo Ran received a call from Kleiman’s secretary.

He said that Kleiman would not be returning anytime soon, and had fallen in love with climbing, completely addicted to it.

An avalanche had occurred on the snowy mountain where Kleiman was a few days ago, which changed its geology, so Kleiman, who was a mountaineering enthusiast, was more excited to explore.

Therefore, Kleiman meant for Luo Ran to find him in person if he had any business to discuss. After all, if Luo Ran wanted to go, he didn’t need to climb the mountain. An aircraft could take him up.

But in fact, Luo Ran already knew the answers to the questions he wanted to ask, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

Until the dispatch team brought him a new report.

“Regarding His Highness Kleiman’s invitation to go to the snowy mountain, Cyril’s side seems to be very nervous.” The captain said with a frown: “The reason is unknown, but they were concerned and even tried to investigate and spy on us.”

However, Lucas’s investigation team had always been the elite of the Empire, and they were soldiers. No one could detect them without being counter-investigated.

The team had been paying special attention to Zhou Mingyu and Cyril recently, so they would immediately know if there was any trouble.

Luo Ran frowned slightly.

Was there another mystery?

Luo Ran asked: “Where is the mountain Kleiman is on?”

“In the Western part of the transitional territory between Luobing and the Empire. It is extremely remote, and the temperature is also extremely low, even colder than Luobing. It is covered in thick ice and snow all year round, and the terrain is steep. Recently, there have been frequent avalanches due to geological changes.”

“Has this happened before?”

“The location of the mountain is special, and each type of terrain has different advantages for military strategists. Therefore, there have been many battles, weather between the Empire and Luobing or the Empire and the star pirates.”

Luo Ran nodded, frowning for a moment. “Does His Highness really like climbing mountains?”

“It’s unclear. He wasn’t that keen before, but after the avalanche, he became obsessed with climbing.”

When it came to climbing, this person was still a prince anyway, and there were countless aircraft following him, which could temporarily take him away before an avalanche occurred.

“I’ll go and have a look,” Luo Ran said. “Tomorrow.”

“Yes!” The captain reminded: “Please be sure to bring enough troops to ensure your safety.”

“En.” Luo Ran planned to take Lu Cheng and his team directly.

Otherwise, Lucas would have to worry about being far away on the battlefield. Luo Ran would take the entire squad with him, so that even if a small army came from the opposite side, he would not be afraid.

. . . . . . .

The snow-capped mountain was located in the far reaches of the planet, and was indeed extremely cold.

The aircraft landed on flat ground on the mountainside, where Kleiman and his camp of guards were located.

Luo Ran was wearing two thick layers of clothing, but after getting off the aircraft, he still felt a gust of wind pour into his nose and mouth, reaching his lungs.

Hiss, it was really cold.

“Secretary Luo is here!” Kleiman stepped forward and said with a smile: “Aiyo, so urgent, ah. I’m curious about what urgent matter could get you to come here in person.”

The brown-haired Kleiman looked sloppy.

Luo Ran just smiled.

Kleiman looked around and said with a smile: “Shall we go into the tent?”

Kleiman and Luo Ran walked into the tent alone. Kleiman asked people to stand guard, and after making sure that there were no other people around, he said: “Secretary Luo, I have something to tell you.”

“Say it.” Luo Ran sat down and said: “Is it something sensitive?”

Kleiman sat in front of Luo Ran and whispered: “Secretary Luo, do you know why I suddenly wanted to climb this mountain?”

“Hm?”

“I came here to find something, but now that I found it……I think things are more complicated.” Kleiman’s voice shook a little as he spoke. “I haven’t been able to sleep well at all these past few nights.”

“Speak slowly, it’s okay.” Luo Ran said: “If necessary, I will keep it a secret.”

“Just, when Admiral Alton was fighting the star pirates, another logistics team that Cyril was in was surprise attacked by Luobing. I was on the battleship at the time. Later, I saw that Cyril kept coming back after the incident as if he was looking for something. He was very nervous and scared, and I lied to him that I had found what he wanted.”

Kleiman scratched the back of his head and said: “At that time, I just wanted to extort money and scare a high-ranking official of the Empire, but I didn’t expect that there would be assassination attempts next. After escaping a few times, I came clean and confessed that I just wanted to blackmail him, but I was still being watched.”

Luo Ran frowned slightly: “Are you still being watched?”

“Yes, ah! There have been several attempts on my life since I came to the snowy mountain. I can’t stand it anymore. I wanted to get rid of this curse, so I came back to look for that thing.”

“I didn’t expect that because of the avalanche changing the terrain, I would actually find the remnants of the battlefield that was buried back then.”

“Just……”

Kleiman took out a personal communication device from his pocket and handed it to Luo Ran.

The device looked like it was from a long time ago. It was worn out and covered with a lot of old ice and snow, which made it a little cold to handle.

“There are still conversation records inside.” Kleiman turned his head and said: “After a lot of thought, I still think it’s most appropriate to tell the Admiral, but, that, I dare not. So…..I’ll trouble you.”

Luo Ran turned on the communicator and played the conversation recordings.

“Beepbeep……”

“Hello, hello.”

Luo Ran was a little surprised.

That was Cyril’s voice.

“Target is heading north, coordinates y8e6……”

“Repeat. Target is heading north, coordinates y8e6……”

“Beepbeep……”

After he heard it clearly, Luo Ran’s blood instantly froze.