Chapter 148: Deployment
Although Nan Yu pretended to be somewhat puzzled about this, he didn't pursue the matter any further. After all, the data showing their Mental Contamination levels was right there in front of everyone, and he had personally treated them himself, so there was no possibility of any falsification.
Quite a few people joked with them.
"I never expected you two to have such amazing physiques. You've been lying in bed for so many years, yet you've still managed to keep yourselves in such great shape. I'm really jealous. Unlike us, we still have to rebuild our strength bit by bit. But that's fine..."
"Yeah. Anyway, we've got plenty of time. The Marshal already told us we won't be forced to retire. He'll give us several years to undergo rehabilitation and special training. Once we've fully recovered—or even become stronger than before—we'll be able to return to the army and fight alongside our old comrades again."
"Eh, that's not necessarily true. Your old comrades might have become your superiors by then. Better not end up in the same unit as them, otherwise you'll have to salute them every time you meet. It's only proper, sure, but it still won't feel great."
"You're right, you're right. I didn't think that through. Forget it then. But if we work harder afterward, maybe we'll still be able to catch up?"
After all, these people had fought until their Mental Contamination had skyrocketed all the way to S-rank without even noticing. They were absolutely ruthless toward themselves. If they were that ruthless with themselves, they would naturally be even more ruthless toward their enemies. Because of that, it really was possible for them to surpass everyone despite falling behind.
The two infiltrators mingled among the crowd, chatting casually and occasionally joining the conversation while listening to all this meaningless banter.
Soon enough, one of them happened to make eye contact with someone.
The exchange of glances looked completely accidental, however.
Even with Nan Yu and the others secretly observing them, they couldn't determine whether that person was actually involved.
That person had also been treated by Nan Yu. He had even personally investigated everyone in this group beforehand. Every single one of them was genuinely who they claimed to be. None had been replaced, nor had they ever come into contact with that organization before.
If that was the case...
There was only one explanation.
After the two spies had successfully infiltrated the legion, someone already hidden within the legion had persuaded and recruited that individual.
The speed of their operation was astonishing.
Nan Yu asked quietly, "Brother Yu, do you think it's him?"
Yu Lanfeng replied, "There's a ninety percent chance. But it was only a glance. We still need to keep watching. We can't wrongly accuse someone."
Nan Yu nodded.
"You're right. So far, all we have is that one look. We can't jump to conclusions. We'll wait. They're already under surveillance anyway."
Naturally, the surveillance wasn't limited to just their side.
Besides Nan Yu's group, Qin Wenxing had secretly arranged numerous trustworthy personnel throughout the surrounding area.
Every one of them was reliable.
To avoid alerting anyone, they had concealed themselves perfectly, making it seem as though nobody was watching at all.
Nan Yu walked over to the patients.
"That's it for today's activities. Everyone, return to your rooms and get some rest. We'll continue rehabilitation tomorrow. Don't overdo it all at once, or it'll backfire. Too much is just as bad as too little. Listen to your doctor."
Naturally, everyone listened to the doctor's orders.
They all returned to their beds to rest.
Only after everyone had settled down did Nan Yu turn around and leave.
However...
When that Nan Yu opened the lounge door and walked inside, another Nan Yu was already sitting there.
Yu Lanfeng was beside him.
The Nan Yu who had just been talking with the soldiers...
Was actually a body double they had prepared.
Yu Lanfeng looked at the double.
"From now on, you'll be the one interacting with them. You've already reviewed everything beforehand, so you know what to do."
"Yes, Marshal! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"
Nan Yu yawned.
Yu Lanfeng immediately stood up.
"Let's get some rest first. They'll continue monitoring things here. Nothing will happen."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Alright. Let's rest first. We'll deal with this again tomorrow..."
After returning to his room, Nan Yu took a shower and immediately fell asleep.
Even while sleeping, he still held the Nianshen Grass in his hand.
Before drifting off, all he had to do was establish a Mental Power circulation with the Nianshen Grass. Once asleep, the circulation would continue automatically, endlessly cycling as it cultivated his Mental Power for him.
By the time he woke up, he would feel completely refreshed.
His Mental Power would even become slightly stronger.
It was incredibly convenient.
Especially after spending a large amount of Mental Power during the day, the cultivation effect at night became even better.
The next morning, when Nan Yu woke up, Yu Lanfeng was nowhere to be found.
He reached over and touched the other side of the bed.
It was already cold.
Apparently, Yu Lanfeng had gotten up very early.
Nan Yu wondered what he had gone off to do.
Most likely he was dealing with the spies again.
After all, to Yu Lanfeng, Nan Yu was as precious as the apple of his eye.
Those people had been coveting both him and his Nianshen Grass the entire time.
Not only had they coveted them—they had actually come here, pulling out every trick they had in an attempt to kidnap him.
They had thoroughly trampled over every single one of Yu Lanfeng's bottom lines.
Not just once.
They had stomped on them over and over again, practically dancing on top of them.
Imagining that scene, Nan Yu couldn't help laughing softly.
He put away the Nianshen Grass, got dressed, washed up, and walked outside.
Breakfast had been kept warm in the kitchen.
He heated it up, finished eating, tossed the tray to the cleaning robot, and went looking for Yu Lanfeng.
He wasn't in the office.
So Nan Yu entered the hidden passage behind it and walked into the lounge.
Inside, he found Yu Lanfeng.
Besides him, Qin Wenxing and Crown Prince Yuan Qiyang were also there.
The body double wasn't present.
Nan Yu walked over to the surveillance monitors and discovered that the double was currently chatting with the recovering soldiers.
Not a single one of them had realized that the Nan Yu standing before them wasn't the real one at all.
Nan Yu twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Fortunately, I didn't spend much time interacting with them before, so they don't know me that well. Replacing me with someone who looks almost identical is enough. The people who stayed after the initial treatments might think something feels a little strange, but the ones who arrived later—especially those who only came over the last two days—have no chance of noticing."
Because of that, the two spies hadn't noticed anything unusual either.
The Nan Yu they were facing no longer needed to use Mental Power, so there wasn't the slightest flaw to expose.
Nan Yu quietly watched the body double interacting with the soldiers in his place.
He looked...
So much like him.
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of fear rose within him.
It almost felt as though...
He himself could be replaced at any time.
The thought disappeared almost immediately.
Yu Lanfeng had already wrapped an arm around him and pulled him onto his lap.
Nan Yu felt rather embarrassed.
Unfortunately, he couldn't break free.
Without enough strength to resist, he could only obediently sit there.
He glared at Yu Lanfeng.
"What are you doing?!"
Yu Lanfeng answered calmly,
"Nothing. You just looked like you were saying, 'Come comfort me.'"
Nan Yu twitched.
"When did I ever say that?"
Well...
He really had wanted someone to comfort him just a little.
But definitely not like this.
A simple pat on the head would have been enough.
Why did he have to sit on Yu Lanfeng's lap?
Feeling awkward, Nan Yu shifted slightly, trying to climb down.
If it had only been the two of them, it would've been fine.
But Crown Prince Yuan Qiyang and Qin Wenxing were still—
Hm?
Nan Yu blinked and looked around the lounge.
Only he and Yu Lanfeng remained.
The Crown Prince and Qin Wenxing, who had been there when he entered, had disappeared without him noticing.
When had they left?
How had they vanished so quietly?
Blinking several times, Nan Yu said,
"They sure ran fast."
Yu Lanfeng smiled.
"That's for the best. Otherwise they'd have stayed to watch us?"
The truth was...
Yu Lanfeng had merely glanced at them.
That single look told them to leave.
So they silently slipped away.
After all, staying there would only mean becoming unwilling spectators of the couple's affection.
Nan Yu took a deep breath.
Since nobody else was around now, he stopped worrying about it.
If Yu Lanfeng wanted him sitting on his lap, then so be it.
After all...
Yu Lanfeng belonged to him.
Still watching the surveillance footage, Nan Yu asked,
"Did anything happen yesterday? You got up so early today that I didn't even know when you left."
Yu Lanfeng answered,
"I came over about three hours ago. Last night, the person who exchanged glances with them made contact with one of the logistics staff assigned to care for the patients. They also exchanged something."
To avoid alerting the enemy, however, they hadn't intercepted it.
They still didn't know what had been passed between them.
For now, they simply placed that logistics worker under surveillance as well.
Quietly and without exposing themselves.
Even now, the other side probably had no idea they had already been discovered and were being watched.
By this morning, that logistics worker had contacted several more suspicious individuals.
After investigating them, most still had to be ruled out one by one.
However, they believed the real contact was hidden somewhere among them.
Or perhaps...
Every one of these people was merely a smokescreen.
Only after confirming absolute safety would he approach the true person he needed to meet.
Nan Yu thought for a moment.
"This really does require patience. But the medical clinic won't stay open forever. They have to kidnap me before the next full physical examination. Otherwise everything they've done will have been for nothing. There are too many uncontrollable variables—weather, people, unexpected circumstances. Looking at it that way, they actually have it pretty hard. They have to accomplish an incredible number of things in an extremely short period."
Their planning really was impressive.
But unfortunately for them...
No matter how meticulous they were...
They never realized that everyone in the legion had known about their plan from the very beginning.
Yu Lanfeng gently stroked Nan Yu's hair.
Nan Yu immediately grabbed his hand.
"Don't mess up my hair. Anyway, I'll go take a look at the medical wing later."
Yu Lanfeng shook his head.
"You can't."
"They've already become familiar with the body double. If you appear now, they'll think you're the fake one instead. That'll only make them much more vigilant."
Nan Yu considered it.
"That... actually makes sense."
"If that's the case, then do we just keep waiting? Maybe they're planning to act after the next two selected patients arrive for treatment. At that point, I'll be the only one in the room. The two patients lying there won't count as combat power."
Yu Lanfeng narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That's possible. We'll prepare for both scenarios. Come over and choose another two patients. I'll have the hospital send them over."
Nan Yu blinked.
"What if those two spies replace these two patients as well? Wouldn't that make four infiltrators..."
Halfway through his sentence, he froze.
"Wait..."
"Maybe that's exactly what they're planned all along?"
Yu Lanfeng frowned.
"If that's really the case, how long are they planning to stay here? Half a month?"
Did they truly believe nothing would go wrong during all that time?
Or were they simply that confident?
Even though they were already under surveillance.
Nan Yu nodded.
"No matter what, we can't stop our side of the operation. If we do, they'll immediately realize something's wrong. For now, let's stick to the original plan. We still need to wait for them to make their move."
Yu Lanfeng nodded as they selected two more patients.
"These two are suitable. Once they're sent over, I'll inspect them carefully."
"And before that, verify their identities. Have the soldiers monitor them at all times."
"Mm."
Even the smallest irregularity had to be reported immediately.
That way...
No clues would ever be missed.
Nan Yu took these matters extremely seriously.
Very soon, news arrived from the hospital.
Sure enough...
The two patients Nan Yu had selected had been replaced again.
This time, however, they were taken to different locations.
The previous two replacements were still living where they had been placed, being cared for by temporary workers.
Nothing unusual had happened.
Nobody came to take them away.
Nobody made contact with them.
At night they slept there.
During the day the temporary workers simply cleaned the rooms and took care of daily necessities.
The newest replacements were housed in another location not far from the first pair.
However, the temporary worker caring for them was completely different.
The previous caretaker had been a young man.
This time it was an elderly woman.
Their planning was meticulous.
First, the two safe houses were located in completely opposite directions.
Second, the caretakers were of vastly different ages, lifestyles, and routines.
The two groups had absolutely no overlap in their daily lives.
There was virtually no chance of exposing one another.
Nan Yu nodded.
"So I was right. Once I've treated these two, they'll launch an attack from both inside and outside simultaneously. That really would reduce the difficulty quite a bit."
He sighed.
"I just wonder whether we'll be able to catch every single one of them this time."
Yu Lanfeng answered calmly,
"Even if we can't catch all of them, I'll make the ones we do catch talk."
Nan Yu blinked.
A chill ran down his spine.
Did that mean...
Yu Lanfeng intended to personally conduct the interrogations?
For some reason...
He actually found himself looking forward to it.
He had never seen Yu Lanfeng's truly cold, ruthless side before.
Maybe this time...
He would finally get the chance.
Just imagining that version of his partner filled him with anticipation.
After all...
Getting to know every side of the person he loved wasn't a bad thing.
Yu Lanfeng, of course, had no idea what Nan Yu was thinking.
If he had known...
He probably would've felt rather awkward.
After all, he didn't really want Nan Yu to see that side of him.
Time passed quickly.
From the people contacted by the logistics worker they'd already identified, three became prime suspects.
Following those three and monitoring everyone they communicated with eventually revealed that two of the three were indeed members of the organization.
Even more importantly...
Among the people those two later contacted, two or three out of every five or six were also connected.
When the entire web of relationships was mapped out...
Nan Yu discovered that the number of people suspected of participating in this operation had actually exceeded fifty.
Yu Lanfeng looked at the diagram.
"They even have people responsible for maintaining the legion's starships and combat spacecraft."
"It looks like they've already prepared their escape vehicles."
Nan Yu frowned.
"They've prepared thoroughly."
"Doesn't that put my body double in a very dangerous position? If they discover he's fake, he'll probably be the first one killed."
Yu Lanfeng shook his head.
"I've tested him."
"He's very strong."
"Once this mission is over, he'll receive a promotion."
"Someone with his abilities shouldn't have been stuck in his previous position."
Nan Yu blinked.
Right...
To that soldier, this was simply another mission.
Completing it successfully meant promotion.
Perhaps, from his perspective, this assignment was actually a good opportunity.
He had certainly understood the risks from the very beginning.
Worrying about him now seemed somewhat unnecessary.
Yu Lanfeng gently ruffled his hair again.
"It's alright."
"You'll understand eventually."
"Missions like this are common within the legion."
"There's some danger, yes."
"But compared to fighting Ability Beasts on the battlefield day and night..."
"This is already considered an easy assignment."
Nan Yu recalled the bloody scenes he'd witnessed of soldiers fighting Ability Beasts.
Compared to that...
Yu Lanfeng was right.
So he stopped dwelling on it.
About two days later, another pair of patients arrived from the hospital.
Once again...
They were assigned to the same ward.
Nan Yu blinked.
"So this time I'm going to remove the Mental Contamination from two more infiltrators?"
Yu Lanfeng smiled faintly.
"And while you're at it..."
"Leave a little souvenir inside their Mental Seas."
Nan Yu couldn't help laughing.
"Pfft..."
"Alright, alright."
"You win."
"I'll leave them a little souvenir."
"I just hope they'll survive it."
Hopefully...
His tiny Mental Power sphere wouldn't explode and turn them into complete idiots.
At the very least...
They needed to retain enough sanity to be interrogated afterward.
Nan Yu entered the ward once again.
As before, a curtain divided the room, preventing the two patients from seeing one another.
He treated the Mental Contamination of the first patient.
Then he rested for the remainder of the day before planning to treat the second one tomorrow.
"Alright."
"Your Mental Contamination has now been reduced to A-rank."
"I know it still feels awful."
"But I've almost exhausted my Mental Power."
"So I'll have to come back tomorrow."
The two patients were still suffering under A-rank Mental Contamination.
However, they remained fully conscious.
Hearing Nan Yu's explanation, neither objected.
Being pulled all the way down from S-rank to A-rank already proved how extraordinary he was.
It demonstrated beyond doubt that Nan Yu truly possessed the ability, as merely a Mid-Tier Mental Power User, to treat Ability Users suffering from S-rank Mental Contamination.
That alone proved everything.
After saying goodbye and telling them to get some rest, Nan Yu admitted that he himself was also rather exhausted.
He headed toward the lounge, intending to lie down for a while.
Not long after he fell asleep...
Yu Lanfeng noticed movement inside the ward.
The two infiltrators seemed to be enduring their mental agony as they slowly climbed out of bed and carefully approached the lounge door through which Nan Yu had entered earlier.
Yu Lanfeng immediately cleared away everything inside the lounge.
Then he left with Crown Prince Yuan Qiyang and Qin Wenxing.
Only the body double remained behind, lying asleep on the bed exactly as though he had just fallen asleep.
The two infiltrators quietly crept over to the lounge door.
Without even knocking...
They carefully tried to open it.
Meanwhile, Yu Lanfeng, Nan Yu, and the others watched everything from the Marshal's office through the surveillance feed.
When the pair discovered the door wouldn't open, they immediately became anxious, nervously looking around.
One whispered,
"What do we do? We can't open it."
"We agreed we'd move tonight."
"Once we capture him and bring him back..."
"We'll have enough credits to spend for the rest of our lives."
Yu Lanfeng remained expressionless.
So...
The organization's rewards were apparently paid in money.
Huge amounts of money.
Just like Bai Zhouyun before—merely leaking one piece of information had allowed him to spend lavishly without restraint.
Nan Yu watched nervously.
Then he saw one of the infiltrators skillfully bypass the lock using specialized equipment.
His eyes widened.
Yu Lanfeng, however, wasn't surprised in the slightest.
If they couldn't even pick a lock...
How were they supposed to complete the mission?
In fact...
For their convenience, the legion had deliberately installed a lock that was extremely easy to bypass.
Honestly...
If they couldn't even get past such an obvious act of leniency...
Then they'd simply have to wait for another opportunity.
And whoever got that opportunity afterward...
Well...
Maybe it would be a dog.
No...
Perhaps a cat.
Nan Yu was so tense that even his breathing slowed.
He turned toward Yu Lanfeng.
"They've already contacted the rest of their people, haven't they?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"They have."
"They've also bribed quite a few others."
"When the time comes, those people will serve as disposable pawns to delay us."
Nan Yu curled his lips into a smile.
"I figured as much."
"Making deals with devils?"
"How naïve."
"What a joke."
They looked human on the outside...
But inside they were devils.
There was no way such monsters would ever honor the promises they'd made.
At best...
They would abandon those pawns and let them fend for themselves.
Or...
To eliminate every loose end...
They might simply kill every single one of them before escaping.
That would be the safest option.
Unfortunately...
The people who had accepted the bribes didn't think that way.
Blinded by enormous profits, they had become completely intoxicated by greed.
They had almost forgotten who they really were.
After opening the door...
The first thing they saw was Nan Yu lying asleep beneath the blanket on the bed.
Or rather...
The body double.
He looked so astonishingly similar to the real Nan Yu that there was virtually no difference at all.