Chapter 193: Unconscious
Yu Lanfeng breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately afterward, his brows knitted tightly again. To be fair, Nan Yun and Nan Zhen being rescued and brought back was a good thing. And if...
If Nan Yu were not in his current condition, there would not even be any need to tell him about this matter. But things were different now. Yu Lanfeng was currently struggling with whether he should tell the rest of the Nan family that something had happened to Nan Yu.
If he told them now, they would definitely come over. No person or matter would be able to stop them. But if he didn't tell them, then later...
Yu Lanfeng thought for a long time before ultimately deciding not to tell the Nan family.
The first reason was that even if he told them, it would not help. After all, there was nothing they could do even if they knew. They would only end up worrying helplessly alongside him.
As for the second reason, Yu Lanfeng naturally had a little selfish motive of his own.
"You can all leave."
The others in the hospital room gradually left, until only the unconscious Nan Yu remained lying on the hospital bed, with Yu Lanfeng standing alone beside him.
Yu Lanfeng slowly sat down in the chair beside the bed, then took out a spatial button. This spatial button belonged to Nan Yu. Now that Nan Yu had changed into hospital clothes, all of his belongings had been set aside, and Yu Lanfeng was temporarily keeping this spatial button for him. Naturally, the Nianshen Grass was also inside.
He didn't know whether it would be useful, but he still had to try.
Nan Yu's spatial button had no restrictions against him, so Yu Lanfeng could open it and take things out.
He examined the contents of the spatial button. There were all sorts of miscellaneous things inside, but everything had been neatly sorted into different categories. Yu Lanfeng found the Nianshen Grass stored inside and placed it between Nan Yu's hands.
If Nan Yu could sense it at all, he would surely subconsciously use his Mental Power to connect with the Nianshen Grass. And since the Nianshen Grass could absorb Mental Power, perhaps it could help?
But Nan Yu showed no reaction whatsoever.
The Nianshen Grass simply remained quietly in its flowerpot. As for Nan Yu, time passed second by second, yet there wasn't even the slightest sign of recovery.
The Mental Power value inside his Mental Sea was still displayed as a string of question marks. Even the most advanced instruments in the entire Empire were unable to calculate an accurate value. However, they could still roughly measure its intensity, and that intensity had not changed at all.
In other words, after all these days, Nan Yu had shown absolutely no signs of improvement.
Yu Lanfeng still refused to leave.
He had to stay here and watch over Nan Yu!
Although many military bases had already begun urging him to come, he had no intention of moving. He intended to remain here until Nan Yu woke up.
But...
Yuan Qiyi said, "Marshal, staying here like this won't help either. I heard there's an extremely skilled doctor at the Border Region Eleven Military Base. If you think it's worth trying, why don't you go there first?"
Only then did Yu Lanfeng remember that there did indeed seem to be such a doctor.
"All right."
Yuan Qiyi hadn't expected it to be so easy to persuade Yu Lanfeng, but this was a good thing. Yu Lanfeng was undoubtedly desperate. Now that he remembered there was such a doctor at the Border Region Eleven Military Base, naturally he couldn't wait to go there.
Before leaving, Yu Lanfeng specifically instructed Yuan Qiyi, "Keep a close eye on Jiang Youjian and Shuang Qingyue. Under absolutely no circumstances can you let them escape."
Yuan Qiyi said, "Don't worry, Marshal. I've already made the arrangements. Absolutely no one will be able to rescue them."
Only then did Yu Lanfeng feel reassured enough to take Nan Yu away from the base and head toward another military base, Border Region Eleven.
Yu Lanfeng ordered them to reach the Border Region Eleven Military Base as quickly as possible. Only then could the doctor there examine Nan Yu at the earliest possible moment.
Even using the most powerful accelerator they had currently developed, traveling from here to Border Region Eleven would still take more than ten days.
Throughout that time, Yu Lanfeng kept the Nianshen Grass in Nan Yu's hands, hoping that while Nan Yu was unconscious, a Mental Power circulation loop would automatically form between them.
If it didn't work...
But if it did, then Nan Yu truly might be saved.
Unfortunately, during the ten-odd days it took to travel from Border Region Six to Border Region Eleven, Yu Lanfeng saw no movement from Nan Yu whatsoever.
The Mental Power circulation between him and the Nianshen Grass had not formed at all.
They were almost at Border Region Eleven now.
Yu Lanfeng forced himself to calm down. If even he lost his composure now, things would only become worse.
In the room where Nan Yu lay alone on the bed, Yu Lanfeng took several deep breaths. In truth, he hadn't used this sort of method to relax himself since his school days.
However, it really was effective.
He forcibly brought his emotions, which had already reached their limit, back under control.
After the starship landed at the military base, the general here, whom they had contacted in advance, was already waiting below. Even a hospital bed and hospital room had been prepared.
When Yu Lanfeng stepped off the starship, someone behind him was pushing a bed out.
Actually, he had wanted to carry Nan Yu out himself, but the people treating Nan Yu earlier had said that it was best not to move his body around unnecessarily. If his head suffered any impact and caused fluctuations inside, it could make his Mental Sea even more tightly strained.
Once that delicate balance was broken, Nan Yu would be the one to suffer.
Just as Nan Yu was about to be wheeled toward the hospital room, Yu Lanfeng stopped them.
"Take him to my lounge. Then call that doctor over."
The general of the Border Region Eleven Military Base was naturally also someone Yu Lanfeng thought highly of. However, the fact that he had managed to reach his current position was also due to his own capabilities. Yu Lanfeng only hoped he could continue to perform this well.
He had also examined the number of personnel at this base and their data.
He discovered that among all the military bases, Border Region Eleven had the smallest number of personnel, but it also had the fewest infiltrators and spies.
Not only was their absolute number low, the proportion was also very small.
The number of identified spies might not even reach one thousand.
Compared to the other military bases, that was genuinely moving.
But that was good. It would save him from having to waste too much time here.
For now, he wanted to see whether Nan Yu could wake up here. If even this place couldn't do anything...
Then he could eliminate all the spies here as quickly as possible before taking Nan Yu somewhere else for treatment.
And if that still didn't work...
The people from the military base watched Yu Lanfeng's slowly receding figure and hurriedly followed him.
However, once they reached the lounge, Yu Lanfeng shut the door. Before closing it, he didn't forget to order them to bring the doctor over as quickly as possible.
Naturally, neither the general nor anyone else dared to object in the slightest. The doctor was quickly summoned.
"General Zhou?"
Zhou Changwu let out a long sigh.
"The Marshal is inside. He looks like he's in a terrible mood. You love swearing more than anything, but if you start cursing in front of the Marshal, especially while he's in such a terrible mood, even I won't be able to save you. You're on your own."
The doctor blinked.
"General, shouldn't you tell me what else I need to watch out for?"
Zhou Changwu said, "Remember this. Don't swear. If you find the case too difficult, immediately tell the Marshal that there's nothing you can do and that he should find another doctor to treat him."
"You want me to say I'm incompetent?"
The doctor scratched his head in distress, but Zhou Changwu merely gave him a mocking smile.
"If you genuinely want to stay and take a look, then you can stay and take a look. You'll find out for yourself whether it's real or not, won't you?"
"You're right, but I'll have to find an excuse to stay. If I can figure out the cause but can't treat it, I'll say I ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) need two days to study it. If I can treat it, I'll tell him honestly. If I can't treat it, I'll observe him for another couple of days before coming back."
"I'm seriously too curious. I've never seen a case like this before."
Zhou Changwu said, "Don't get excited. If you're too excited and the Marshal sees how restless you are and refuses to let you treat him, are you prepared to accept the consequences of your own impatience?"
"General, I was wrong. I should've calmed down from the beginning."
Whether those words actually worked or not, someone sent by the Marshal soon arrived to fetch them.
She pointed at the doctor.
"You, come with me. No one else needs to follow."
The doctor shuddered.
Why did he suddenly feel as though he were being sent to his death?
That shouldn't be possible.
He straightened his clothes, then followed her forward. Soon, they reached the hospital room prepared for Nan Yu. It was a private room and was quite spacious inside.
This was the first time he had seen a big shot like Yu Lanfeng up close—the Marshal of the legion...
All right, technically he had seen him before, but only from a great distance. He had barely been able to make out what Yu Lanfeng looked like.
Although Yu Lanfeng's face appeared in plenty of videos, this was the first time the doctor had ever clearly seen him with his own eyes.
Yu Lanfeng brought him to the bedside.
"This is Nan Yu, a Mental Power User whom I personally invited into the legion. There's currently a serious problem with his Mental Sea."
"I previously had other Mental Power Users examine him. They said there's too much Mental Power inside Nan Yu's Mental Sea. If you aren't careful while examining him, you could cause serious damage. Do you understand what I mean?"
The doctor carefully swallowed.
"I understand. Don't worry, Marshal. I'll be careful, careful, and even more careful!"
And that was genuinely what he thought.
If he really treated this lightly and screwed up, would he still be able to live afterward?
Would he live in agony?
Or would he end up wishing he were dead?
His sixth sense told him that there was something slightly unusual about the relationship between the Marshal and this underage Mental Power User.
But after thinking about it carefully, it wasn't actually strange.
After all, Nan Yu was a talent whom the Marshal had personally gone out of his way to recruit. Of course Yu Lanfeng would be anxious now that something had happened to him. And there were still several members of the Nan family watching from behind the scenes.
Yu Lanfeng moved two steps aside, giving him room.
Only then did the doctor slowly shuffle forward until he reached the head of Nan Yu's bed. He extended both hands and placed them on either side of Nan Yu's head, then slowly extended his Mental Power, intending to make an initial examination.
His Mental Power gradually reached the outer edge of Nan Yu's Mental Sea.
The instant he touched the barrier surrounding it, the doctor was so frightened that his heart nearly stopped!
Heavens, what was he seeing?!
Never mind how something like this had even happened. The Mental Sea he could sense inside Nan Yu was like an enormous balloon that had been inflated far beyond its normal size.
Not even the slightest bit more air could be blown into this balloon, nor could it come into contact with anything sharp or forceful.
What Yu Lanfeng had told him earlier was completely correct.
If he had recklessly rammed his Mental Power directly against it, Nan Yu's Mental Sea, which resembled a balloon on the verge of exploding, might have been instantly punctured by his Mental Power.
And if Mental Power of this magnitude exploded, all of it would scatter outward at tremendous speed.
Every living creature nearby would suffer a devastating impact.
If the affected range was large enough, everyone throughout the entire base might be affected.
Those nearby, such as Marshal Yu and the doctor himself, could become idiots.
Those farther away, such as soldiers patrolling near the edge of the protective barrier, might only suffer some impairment to their thought processes and reasoning abilities.
In other words, they would become a little stupider.
As for exactly how stupid they became, that would depend on where they were positioned and how strong their own Mental Power had originally been.
The doctor withdrew his hands and subconsciously wiped away his cold sweat.
After seeing this situation, he genuinely felt there probably wasn't much he could do.
But he couldn't be too absolute about it either.
If he directly told Marshal Yu, "There's nothing I can do. Find someone more capable," what if the Marshal simply called him a quack?
His lifelong reputation would be ruined!
Sure enough, the moment Yu Lanfeng saw him withdraw his hands, he immediately stepped forward and asked, "How is he?"
The doctor coughed twice, trying to bolster his courage.
"I just examined him. It's exactly as you said, Marshal. My conclusion is the same. His Mental Sea is currently equivalent to a balloon that has been stretched to its absolute limit. Right now, it can't come into contact with anything."
"I only used the tiniest amount of Mental Power to touch it as carefully as possible, and even that scared the hell out of me. Never mind trying to do anything else."
Yu Lanfeng said, "Just tell me what needs to be done."
"Marshal, forgive me for speaking frankly, but there is no way to interfere using external force. We can only let him slowly recover on his own. This isn't something you can rush. Whether you're anxious or not, he'll still remain like this. You need to maintain a good state of mind, Marshal."
How could their Marshal Yu possibly maintain a good state of mind right now?
At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to shout Nan Yu awake.
But forget shouting him awake. With Nan Yu's Mental Sea in its current condition, it might genuinely rupture because of a sound that was too loud.
That was why Yu Lanfeng didn't even dare raise his voice.
Even while speaking to the doctor just now, he had maintained an extremely calm tone.
But beneath that calm exterior, his emotions had already been pushed to the absolute limit.
The doctor seemed to sense some of it as well, because he was now inching toward the door little by little.
"Marshal, there's actually one thing you can rest assured about. As long as there is no external interference, Nan Yu can remain in this state indefinitely. Everything needs to happen gradually. Perhaps his Mental Sea simply can't adapt to having this much Mental Power inside it all at once, so it needs some time to adjust. Once that adjustment period passes, it should begin circulating automatically."
"So you really don't need to worry too much, Marshal. Although his condition is far more severe, fundamentally it's still the same type of problem. I've encountered similar situations before. Their Mental Seas were relatively small, but there was too much Mental Power packed inside them."
Only then did Yu Lanfeng seem to recover a little of his rationality.
"Are you telling the truth?"
The doctor said, "Yes, Marshal. I swear on my life that everything I've said is true. It's just that before he fully adapts to this much Mental Power, his condition will definitely be extremely fragile. All you need to do is protect him during this period."
Yu Lanfeng gradually relaxed.
"All right. I understand. You can go back for now. If anything happens later, I'll call you over again. However..."
"Remember this. Nothing concerning Nan Yu can be leaked. Not half a word. Everything you saw and heard from the moment you entered this door until you leave it, including every word exchanged between you and me, cannot be disclosed. Do you understand?"
His tone was perfectly calm.
But the doctor heard the heavy warning contained within it.
"I understand, Marshal. Don't worry. I'll keep my mouth tightly shut. I absolutely won't say a single word!"
Yu Lanfeng waved his hand, and the doctor quickly left.
In truth, he couldn't help feeling somewhat emotional.
He hadn't expected their Marshal to treat a talent he had personally recruited with such seriousness.
It seemed joining this legion really had been the right choice.
Although Yu Lanfeng had been a little terrifying just now, wasn't this exactly the kind of Marshal they liked?
As the doctor walked away, he rubbed his head and muttered under his breath.
"If I were a woman, I'd definitely go after him! Unfortunately..."
Yu Lanfeng sat beside the bed and stayed with Nan Yu.
Because someone had come to examine him earlier, Yu Lanfeng had temporarily put the Nianshen Grass away.
Now he took it back out and placed it between Nan Yu's hands, arranging his hands so that they cradled the miniature flowerpot. The Nianshen Grass remained quietly planted inside.
Yu Lanfeng stared unblinkingly at the Nianshen Grass.
He didn't know whether it was his imagination, but just now, he almost felt as though the plant had spoken to him.
That had to be his imagination.
If the Nianshen Grass could talk, wouldn't that mean it had gained sentience?
But soon, Yu Lanfeng began to doubt himself.
Just moments ago, he had dismissed the thought as ridiculous.
Yet now, he saw one of the Nianshen Grass's tiny leaves move.
The doors and windows of the hospital room were closed, so it couldn't possibly have been moved by the wind.
Then had it moved by itself?
How was that possible?!
Yu Lanfeng was just about to lean closer for a better look when he saw an extremely fine, almost ethereal strand of Mental Power extend from one of the Nianshen Grass's tiny leaves, so delicate that it looked as though a single gust of wind could scatter it.
The strand then touched one of Nan Yu's hands.
Finally, the Mental Power strand attached itself to his hand.
Yu Lanfeng wasn't a Mental Power User, so he had no idea what exactly was happening.
But there was one thing he did know.
The Nianshen Grass had begun to react.
That meant Nan Yu's recovery should only be a matter of time.
He finally relaxed slightly.
The strand of Mental Power remained attached to Nan Yu's hand without making any other visible movements.
So what exactly did this mean?
With the Nianshen Grass here, Yu Lanfeng obviously couldn't call the doctor from earlier back and ask him to take a look.
He could only remain beside Nan Yu and wait.
In reality, the moment that strand of Mental Power touched one of Nan Yu's hands, it began slowly traveling along the pathways in his hand through which Mental Power circulated, gradually extending toward his head.
Perhaps this was the first time the Nianshen Grass had actively attempted to establish a Mental Power circulation loop with Nan Yu, so it moved relatively slowly.
From the moment the Mental Power touched his palm until it reached the outer barrier of his Mental Sea, an entire hour passed.
The strand of Mental Power seemed somewhat hesitant when it approached the Mental Sea.
But soon, it gently floated onto the barrier surrounding the Mental Sea.
It truly floated onto it.
Other people's Mental Power would carefully make contact with the barrier, but even that carried considerable risk.
The Nianshen Grass's strand of Mental Power, however, was like a thread of silk drifting in the wind, seemingly weightless as it floated down onto the Mental Sea barrier.
Then, completely silently, it merged into the barrier.
Not even the slightest fluctuation occurred.
Whatever the case, it had definitely succeeded.
Once the strand of Mental Power merged inside, everything that followed became much simpler.
Soon, the strand extended out from the other side of Nan Yu's Mental Sea and began slowly traveling toward his other hand.
This time, it moved much faster.
It took roughly half an hour to arrive.
It wasn't until nearly two hours had passed that Yu Lanfeng finally saw a strand similar to the one that had originally emerged from the Nianshen Grass's leaf appear from Nan Yu's other hand.
Its tip slowly attached itself to a tiny leaf on the opposite side of the Nianshen Grass.
Yu Lanfeng carefully watched the scene.
Finally, he adjusted Nan Yu's blanket.
The Mental Power circulation loop had successfully formed.
He simply didn't know how efficient it would be.
He hoped Nan Yu would wake up as soon as possible.
Yu Lanfeng remained in the room for a long time afterward.
It wasn't until the sky was nearly dark that he slowly stood up. After opening the door, he instructed the people standing outside, "No one except me is allowed inside!"
"Yes, Marshal!"
Besides the two guards, Yu Lanfeng had also set up his own flame defenses, warning systems, and other protective measures inside the room.
The moment any of them were triggered, he would be able to rush back immediately.
Yu Lanfeng first took his people to the cafeteria for dinner, then arranged for his subordinates to begin making contact with the personnel at this base.
Zhou Changwu had already been waiting for this moment.
They soon arrived at an office.
Normally, this office wasn't used. It was only occasionally used whenever Yu Lanfeng visited.
They had thoroughly cleaned it a month ago, and since then, someone had gone inside every day to clean it and keep it spotless.
Yu Lanfeng sat in the main seat.
"Sit down. Send me the list of spies and infiltrators you've already identified through your own investigation. I want to see it now."
Zhou Changwu said, "Yes, Marshal."
He operated his optical computer for a moment, and Yu Lanfeng soon received a message containing some of Border Region Eleven Military Base's investigation results.
"You identified six hundred and forty-four?"
Yu Lanfeng was somewhat surprised when he saw the list.
That was because not a single one of the six hundred and forty-four people they had identified had been falsely accused.
Every single one of their names also appeared on the list Nan Yu had compiled himself, without a single discrepancy.
Meanwhile, Yu Lanfeng's own list had been compiled through comparisons with the Empire's nationwide classified information database.
But the list Zhou Changwu had handed him had been produced entirely through their own efforts, identifying the suspects one by one.
Yu Lanfeng asked, "How many people worked together to investigate this list?"
Zhou Changwu said, "I investigated it together with one of the teams under my command. As for these people..."
Yu Lanfeng directly brought out the list his side had compiled.
There were nine hundred and eleven names in total, more than two hundred more than the list Zhou Changwu had produced.
"This is the list we compiled after our own investigation. Take a look at it first."
Naturally, Yu Lanfeng had already confirmed that none of the spies on the list were among the people currently present before showing it to them.