Chapter 25: Things Have Blown Up
The moment he said that, Nan Yu suddenly remembered—it was An Mi who had brought him here. Why was it An Mi again? What exactly was going on with him? Could this also be a mistake?
The portable cleaning robot being here was clearly premeditated.
Or was it that someone couldn't stand seeing An Mi doing well, but couldn't deal with him because of his status, so they wanted to use Nan Yu's identity to target him instead?
After all, Nan Yu had been personally brought here by the Marshal. There was definitely nothing wrong with his identity. By doing this, they could not only cause trouble for An Mi, but also ruin Nan Yu's reputation. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
“This matter is a little complicated. It seems we still need to tell the Marshal about it, but not right now.”
“Xiao Yu, for now, why don't you stay in our ward? I'll have a few beds pushed together and let them sleep there, then we'll free up a bed for you. You absolutely have to get some proper rest.”
Nan Yu froze slightly.
“Huh? Is that really okay? Aren't you all pati—”
The captain interrupted him.
“We've almost recovered already. There's only one final treatment left, isn't there?”
Nan Yu took a deep breath and then let out a long sigh.
“I understand. Thank you all. Then... I'll shamelessly rest in the ward for now.”
“No problem, no problem!”
Nan Yu hesitated a little.
“Even though I'm angry that someone is messing with me, this is still just a small matter in the end. Do we really need to trouble the Marshal over it?”
“I see how busy he is all the time. Why don't we just forget about it?”
The serious look on Nan Yu's face earned everyone's approval.
“Yeah, even though I'm angry that someone would do something like this, bothering the Marshal over it doesn't seem very appropriate...”
The captain sighed.
“Haven't you realized it yet?”
By now, Nan Yu had followed them back to the ward. Everyone was puzzled by the captain's question.
Realized what?
None of them dared ask, but Nan Yu casually blurted out,
“What is it?”
Everyone silently gave him a thumbs-up.
Good question! They wanted to know too!
The captain's eyelid twitched. As if he couldn't tell what they were thinking.
Still, facing Nan Yu, he dutifully explained.
“The video is real. I can tell. It's understandable that Nan Yu doesn't know, since he just arrived, but have all of you forgotten? Have you forgotten what the dust—what the soil here—is like?”
Only then did everyone suddenly understand.
“Of course we know, Captain. Because there are many Ability Beasts on this planet that can spread toxins through the soil, before this wave of Ability Beasts is driven back, neither soil nor dust in the air is allowed to exist here, because all of it carries some degree of poison.”
“And the only place in the base that has clean soil is the fruit and vegetable cultivation room on the third underground level. Other than there, there isn't enough dust anywhere in the entire military base to dirty even one hand.”
This was Nan Yu's first time hearing about this.
“Wow... this is really the first time I've heard that. Then don't you get poisoned whenever you go out to fight Ability Beasts?”
The captain replied,
“Before we go out, we take antidote medicine in advance. It lasts for a certain amount of time. When it's about to wear off, we just take another dose.”
But inside the base, there was naturally no need for it, because there was no poisonous dust or soil here.
Nan Yu frowned slightly.
“So that means...”
“That means someone went to the third underground level and got some soil, then came here and dirtied the room prepared for you before doing all this. As for who that person is, we still have no clue.”
Nan Yu thought for a moment and asked,
“Isn't that easy? Was this room already arranged for me in advance and Captain An Mi merely brought me there, or was it actually him...”
“Of course, I'm only making a normal guess. Don't think too badly of me. After all...”
Wasn't it only natural to suspect An Mi?
Actually, they had all thought so. But because that would make An Mi too obvious, they had other suspicions instead.
“In any case, no matter what, taking soil out from the third underground level is absolutely unacceptable. In other places it might be fine, but here, it is absolutely forbidden!”
As he spoke, the captain was about to go find Marshal Yu, but Yu Lanfeng's whereabouts...
Well, he was definitely in the command room on the highest level.
Everyone knew that he rarely left unless absolutely necessary.
After thinking it over, the captain decided not to seek out Yu Lanfeng directly. Instead, he called someone who worked near the Marshal's command room.
“What is it?”
He briefly explained what had happened.
The person on the other end froze.
“Damn, someone actually dared touch the stuff from the third underground level? That's incredible. You're right, the Marshal definitely needs to know about this. Oh, and have you checked that portable robot yet? How much soil is inside?”
He paused.
They really hadn't opened it yet.
But judging from the thickness of the dust in the video Nan Yu recorded, there couldn't be only a little.
They opened the portable cleaning robot in front of the person on the other side of the call.
Inside, the accumulated dust had formed a clump of soil roughly the size of two adult Ability Users' fists put together.
Everyone sucked in a cold breath.
Because of the special Ability Beasts on this planet, soil was strictly forbidden in soldiers' daily living, training, and recovery areas.
Even a dirt clump the size of a fingernail was enough to warrant military punishment.
But now, there was a lump this large.
To be honest, if that much soil carrying Ability Beast toxins had appeared here, everyone in the ward would have suffered.
It might not kill them, but they would definitely need ten days to half a month to recover.
The most terrifying part was that, if Nan Yu hadn't helped them clear their mental contamination, then in their previous condition, being infected by those toxins wouldn't just have cost them half their lives—it might have ended their military careers forever.
“What's going on?”
Nan Yu heard a somewhat familiar voice from the other side of the communication.
Everyone [N O V E L I G H T] turned and saw the figure standing behind the person holding the communicator.
It was Yu Lanfeng!
The person on the other side instantly shot to his feet and stood at attention.
“Marshal!”
Yu Lanfeng's gaze locked firmly onto the lump of soil on Nan Yu's side.
“What is this?”
Nan Yu froze.
Suddenly, he remembered that he had also brought a pot of Nianshen Grass with him.
There was soil inside the flowerpot as well, but because the Nianshen Grass was tiny, the pot was small too, and the amount of soil inside wasn't much.
Altogether, it probably wasn't even half the size of his fist. The little flowerpot could be held with one hand.
So...
It should be fine, right?
Besides, only a tiny portion inside the flowerpot was actually soil. The rest consisted of nutrient-rich minerals and other substances beneficial to the Nianshen Grass.
The actual soil was only a very small amount.
If separated out, it would probably only amount to a piece the size of a fingernail.
He felt a little guilty.
After all, it was absolutely clean soil brought from the Capital Star.
It should be fine, right?