Luo Qi looked up blankly at the source of the voice. It was a masked face – Gal, who had been guarding him.
He didn't know why Gal had suddenly appeared, nor did he care now. Overwhelming fear gripped his heart, making his voice tremble.
Luo Qi carefully clutched Gal's sleeve, his voice filled with helplessness. "Uncle Gal, will Ye Mu be alright?"
Gal's eyes were filled with concern as he picked Luo Qi up from the ground. "This subordinate will take the little prince to see."
Luo Qi nodded vigorously. "I want to go."
The series of events had happened too quickly. No one noticed when this person in a black combat suit and mask had appeared.
No one could stop him either. He directly led Luo Qi out of the training ground, oriented himself, and headed towards the infirmary.
The extent of Ye Mu's back injury was unknown. Ye Yun, carrying him, walked very slowly. By the time Gal, carrying Luo Qi, reached the infirmary door, Ye Yun had just placed Ye Mu on the bed.
Ye Yun's clothes were soaked with Ye Mu's blood, and his expression was so grim it could drip water. He sat on the bench by the ward door, like a statue, lost in thought.
As soon as Luo Qi was placed on the ground, he ran to the ward door and peered through the crack.
Even though injuries were common at school, Ye Mu's severe condition had the school doctors on high alert.
With serious expressions, they cut open Ye Mu's back clothes. From Luo Qi's angle, all he could see was a large area of bloody, mangled flesh.
He pursed his lips, carefully closing the door crack. His heart pounded fiercely, but a sliver of reason reminded him that the most important thing now was to leave it to the doctors and not disturb them.
Luo Qi tiptoed to sit beside Ye Yun. Something seemed to be stuck in his throat, preventing him from uttering a single sound. After trying for a long time, a very small voice emerged:
"Uncle Ye, I'm sorry."
He lowered his head, terrified of seeing the uncle who always smiled kindly at him reveal a look of disappointment or disgust.
Self-reproach and sadness instantly flooded his heart. If it weren't for his carelessness, Ye Mu wouldn't have been crushed by a mecha while protecting him.
"It's all my fault. I don't know why that mecha fell. I really didn't touch it hard..."
Luo Qi replayed the scene over and over, but he genuinely couldn't remember pushing the mecha or doing anything else. Only a blank filled his mind.
A warm, large hand fell on Luo Qi's head. Ye Yun didn't force himself to smile, but his voice remained gentle. "This is not your fault."
Ye Yun's hands still had some bloodstains, now dried, showing a dull, dark red color.
"Uncle will investigate. Luo Luo, don't be afraid."
Luo Qi wanted to shake his head and say he wasn't afraid, but as he moved, warm liquid fell. Luo Qi raised his hand to wipe the tears from his face, unsure if he was comforting Ye Yun or reassuring himself:
"Ye Mu will definitely be alright."
Gal produced a small medical kit from somewhere, took out disinfectant and bandages, and began to dress the wounds on Luo Qi's hands.
"Little Prince, let this subordinate examine your hands."
It was then that Luo Qi felt the stinging pain in his hands. His skin was nothing like that of an insectoid; it was even more delicate than human skin.
Having been roughly pushed to the ground, both his hands were scratched. The fine, small wounds looked shocking, and blood was seeping out.
From the day Gal was ordered by Cesi to protect Luo Qi from then on, Luo Qi was the only person his life could be connected to.
His life was so much so that even Cesi could not take it away without permission; it belonged only to Luo Qi. This was the instinct of insectoid obedience, and it was also Gal's loyalty to Luo Qi.
In this world, apart from Luo Qi, he wouldn't bat an eye even if anyone else's flesh and blood were torn apart and they died cruelly before him.
But only today, when Ye Mu was injured after pushing Luo Qi away, did he feel genuine relief and gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
Therefore, even though Luo Qi's hands were injured now, and he didn't have a proper ward, he could tolerate his little master sitting on a simple bench with no nurses, only him to provide basic wound treatment.
He even silently prayed to the Mother Tree in his heart, hoping Ye Mu would safely overcome this ordeal.
Gal looked at the prince, whom he had watched grow up, with gentle eyes and softly soothed, "Little Prince, don't be afraid."
Luo Qi's eyes were red, and he gently shook his head. "I'm fine."
At this moment, fear was useless. He just hoped Ye Mu would get better quickly.
The long corridor was silent. The white tiles on the walls reflected the light from the overhead fluorescent bulbs, casting a pale, stark glow that involuntarily unsettled the heart.
Luo Qi rested his hands on his knees, covering his face as he sat on the bench, his desolate guesses about Ye Mu's condition filling his mind.
Even without seeing the specifics, he could guess that Ye Mu's back wounds would require stitches. Even with treatment pods that could quickly heal injuries, the pain was certain.
Luo Qi was so angry he wanted to slap himself twice.
His hand was suddenly covered. Luo Qi looked up and saw a face he hadn't seen in a long time.
Luo Qi's mouth turned down, his lips trembling as he threw himself into Cesi's arms. "Dad, Ye Mu was injured saving me..."
Cesi caught Luo Qi as he lunged towards him, gently patting his back. "Dad is here, Luo Luo, don't cry."
Luo Qi's face was buried in Cesi's embrace, and his tears finally fell uncontrollably. Through the layer of clothing, Cesi could feel the scorching heat soaking into his shoulder.
He rambled, expressing his deepest fears and worries, revealing that all his previous strength had been a mere facade.
Even after so many years in this new world, his heart remained that of an ordinary person from his previous life.
Watching his best friend collapse before him, his back covered in blood, he was truly afraid of losing him.
Luo Qi's hands, wrapped like steamed buns in bandages, clung tightly to the clothes on Cesi's shoulders, his body trembling uncontrollably in small movements.
Cesi sighed, wrapped Luo Qi in a blanket, and sat with him on the bench. His free hand squeezed Ye Yun's shoulder and he said:
"I've obtained the surveillance footage from that time."
After a bug general handed his terminal to Ye Yun, he quietly withdrew. Luo Qi looked up, his eyes as red as a rabbit's. "Wasn't it an accident?"