Chapter 23: The News Spread
After they left, the news spread like wildfire. In less than an hour, practically the entire military base knew about it.
Yu Lanfeng specifically instructed Yuan Qiyang to classify Nan Yu's information as top secret. It was not to be leaked, nor casually discussed, and only then did things calm down somewhat.
Many people had never met Nan Yu and didn't even know what he looked like, but they had already heard his name.
Although the matter only spread within a limited circle in the military and was quickly suppressed, everyone who ought to know still learned of it.
Yu Lanfeng looked at the person displayed on the communication screen and let out a deep sigh. His tone was full of impatience.
“What is it?”
Mixed with that impatience was no small amount of disdain.
“Little Feng, could you stop making that face every time you see me? I'm not here to waste your time this time. I have serious business.”
So she knew all those previous conversations had been nonsense?
Yu Lanfeng couldn't even be bothered to argue. He simply sat in his chair and silently looked at her.
The person on the other end was his elder sister, the Empress of the Empire.
In front of others, she was every bit the dignified Empress.
But in private...
“Oh my, I saw it! One of the classified files on your side was upgraded to absolute secrecy. Hehe, could it be that you—”
Yu Lanfeng frowned.
“As the Empress, don't speak carelessly without evidence. And since you've seen the file, then you should also know that he's already engaged!”
“You're the Empress. If words like that get out, have you thought about how much damage it would do to him? Will people say that I stole him by force, or that he worships wealth and status?”
The Empress suddenly realized the seriousness of the issue.
Fortunately, after seeing the file and its origin, she hadn't immediately told anyone around her. Otherwise...
But that child really already had a fiancé?
She had simply become too excited. Seeing that the file had been elevated to absolute secrecy, she had assumed it was personally ordered by Yu Lanfeng, so she thought there might be something there.
And so...
She hadn't investigated further.
Who would have thought things were actually like this?
“Such a pity. He's only fifteen and already engaged. With talent like that, ability like that, he'd suit you perfectly. Haven't you always been unable to find someone suitable?”
The Empress began enthusiastically offering terrible ideas.
“Hey, Little Feng, what do you think their relationship is like? Why don't you just steal him? They're not married anyway. And getting engaged at such a young age definitely wasn't their own choice—it must have been arranged by their elders. If you can win him over, your big sister will personally take care of everything for you. I guarantee it'll be perfect. What do you think?”
Yu Lanfeng took a deep breath.
“Sis, his fiancé is from the Bai family.”
The Empress froze.
It had been so long since someone had spoken of such-and-such family before her. In front of the Imperial Family, no family really mattered.
But after hearing Yu Lanfeng say that, she paused in thought, then suddenly realized something.
“You mean the Bai family that once saved His Majesty?”
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“That's right. So what do you think?”
The Empress frowned slightly.
“That does make things troublesome. Fine, I'll investigate first. If the Bai family's boy is decent, I won't say anything. But if he's not, then I'll have to fight for you. Someone this outstanding—good looks, strength, enormous potential—if you miss him, you'll never find a second one like him.”
Yu Lanfeng had no intention whatsoever of finding a partner.
But the Empress on the other end had already become completely immersed in her own world and didn't even notice his unwillingness.
Before he could refuse, she hung up.
Yu Lanfeng rubbed his forehead with a headache.
Forget it.
At worst, she'd only investigate. For the sake of his brother-in-law, she certainly wouldn't act on her own.
Right now, his focus still had to remain here.
“Any progress on that Ability Beast?”
“Marshal, we've found some clues. It seems unable to tolerate strong light. Whenever sunlight shines down or we activate powerful lighting equipment, it generally avoids {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the area.”
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“There are only a few places that remain without light. Send out detectors and search inch by inch. Capture that mutated beast alive if possible.”
“But if capturing it proves too difficult, kill it and bring it back. At the very least, I want the corpse brought back for research.”
This was an entirely new species of Ability Beast never seen before.
If they could discover something through research, that would naturally be best.
“Yes, Marshal!”
When Nan Yu slowly woke up, he suddenly realized that many people were looking at him.
He threw off the blanket and sat up, stretching lazily before rubbing his eyes and looking at them.
Even he himself didn't know how long he had slept.
“You're back...”
“How long did I sleep?”
The team leader whose bed he had occupied was currently sitting together with his comrades on another bed.
“Ah, not too long. About half a day. We already got some food for you. Hurry and eat, you must be starving.”
Nan Yu glanced at the time on his optical computer and paused.
Not half a day.
More than half a day.
Nearly twenty hours.
It seemed he had really exhausted himself before.
“All right, thank you.”
The food was still hot.
Nan Yu knew they had definitely gone and gotten it again just recently.
He had heard that the military cafeteria was extremely strict. Once meal hours passed, food was no longer available.
How had they gotten it?
As though reading his thoughts, the other party explained,
“It was the Marshal's order. You exhausted yourself before. If you woke up tired and hungry without anything to eat or drink, wouldn't that be too pitiful?”
Nan Yu's mouth twitched.
Too pitiful?
Well...
If he had really woken up with nothing to eat or drink, it would indeed have been miserable.
Because he was hungry.
Really hungry.
So hungry that stomach acid was rising, making him terribly uncomfortable.
He placed the food on the table and sat cross-legged on the bed, eating slowly.
After several bites eased the discomfort in his stomach, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Picking up a bowl of soup beside him, he took a small sip.
Although it wasn't as delicious as the food at home, it was still very good.
And perhaps it was just his imagination, but the dishes here seemed to have their own special flavor.
Every unique cooking method had its own unique taste.
In any case, Nan Yu ate with great enjoyment.
What he didn't know was that the reason it tasted so good was simply because he was starving.
Military cafeterias served large-pot meals. The food was actually quite ordinary.
After finishing his meal, Nan Yu patted his stomach.
“I'm full. Thank you, everyone.”
“Don't mention it!”
At that moment, An Mi appeared at the doorway.
“Nan Yu?”
Nan Yu turned to him.
“Hm? Captain An... do you need something?”
An Mi smiled.
“Nothing important. I'm just taking you to your room. I got so busy before that I completely forgot. Sorry about that...”
Nan Yu casually waved his hand.
“It's fine. Going now is the same.”
He looked at the empty food containers in front of him, and someone quickly came over to take them away.
“Leave these to us. Hurry up and go. Just come back tomorrow morning.”
Nan Yu nodded.
“All right, I'll head out first. See you tomorrow.”
Nan Yu followed An Mi toward the resting quarters.
Since An Mi was walking ahead, Nan Yu couldn't see his expression.
To ease the awkward silence, he casually found something to talk about.
“Captain An, is the room far from here?”
An Mi answered,
“Not far. Just ahead. About a minute's walk. It's designed so that we can reach the ward as quickly as possible, so it won't be far away.”
Nan Yu understood.
That was indeed convenient.
An Mi stopped in front of a door.
“This is it. I've already entered your identity information. Just scan your optical computer here, and this room will be yours while you're staying at the military headquarters. It's already late, so let's meet again tomorrow?”
Nan Yu smiled and nodded.
“Sure. See you tomorrow.”
An Mi turned and left.
Only after he had completely disappeared from sight did Nan Yu do as instructed, scanning the panel with his optical computer.
The door opened.
But what greeted his eyes wasn't the normal resting room he had imagined.
Instead...
It was a room that was somewhat dirty and messy.