Limited Ambiguity Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The next morning, Qi Yan woke up feeling disoriented. He commanded his personal terminal to tell the time, but Pojun’s response was faster. “It’s now six thirty-seven in the morning.”

He vaguely felt like he had slept for a long time. Sitting up, Qi Yan realized he was clutching Lu Fenghan’s military coat, which was now creased from being pressed against.

He rubbed his forehead and then remembered something. “How did I get back last night?”

Pojun reported truthfully, “The General carried you back.” He made an effort to describe the events, “Carried you horizontally, left arm supporting your knees, right arm supporting your upper body. The General said you felt lighter. After putting you back in bed, the General sat by your bed for half an hour.”

“Half an hour?”

Pojun: “Yes, humans are strange. The General just sat by the bed, watching you for thirty-six minutes and twenty-seven seconds, until it was time for the meeting.”

Qi Yan was stunned.

Although he didn’t see it with his own eyes, Qi Yan easily painted the scene in his mind. He pressed his palm against his chest, feeling like his heart skipped a beat.

But he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.

After washing up, Qi Yan asked, “Can I go to the command room to find the General now?”

This question was directed at Pojun, but it was meant for Lu Fenghan. A few seconds later, Pojun relayed Lu Fenghan’s response: “Of course.”

Only when Qi Yan opened the door did he realize that the debugging of the new detection system had been completed. After last night’s inaugural battle, the detection results were verified to be precise and error-free. The central control system had been fully optimized.

After handling all the matters that needed to be dealt with, his first instinct was to go find Lu Fenghan.

Even before this person came back, despite the absence of emotions, he still felt there was no difference from before.

But now—

That once ignored sense of “loss” became glaringly apparent.

Hearing that Lu Fenghan had sat by his bedside for half an hour, and realizing his immediate impulse was to find Lu Fenghan—

He should have felt some kind of emotion.

Joy? Happiness? Eagerness?

No, it seemed none of those.

Yet Qi Yan also realized that even if he combed through the entire Alliance’s standard language dictionary, he wouldn’t find words capable of accurately describing his emotions.

Or perhaps, his emotions were indeed contained within the dictionary, yet they remained something he himself couldn’t quite define.

At that moment, the emptiness in his heart grew even more pronounced. Qi Yan even felt a chill.

When Qi Yan stepped inside the command room, Vincent, with red-rimmed eyes and stifling a yawn, gestured towards the direction where Lu Fenghan was seated. He quickly bid, “Good night,” and slipped out in a few brisk steps.

Only the two of them remained in the command room.

Lu Fenghan stood by the porthole. A small patrol ship passed by, casting a beam of light that illuminated his figure against the metal wall.

Qi Yan asked as he approached, “You didn’t sleep all night?”

Without any signs of fatigue on his face, Lu Fenghan replied with a grunt before asking, “Have you eaten?”

Qi Yan shook his head.

Lu Fenghan took out a pack of peach-flavored nutritional supplement, tore open the seal, and offered it to Qi Yan’s lips.

Almost reflexively, Qi Yan bit into the nutritional supplement.

A very familiar taste.

Lu Fenghan then began to explain, “Once the Pingning returns, the lower ranks below will report the battle damage layer by layer, which I will finalize. The Logistics Department will provide timely feedback on the records presented. Additionally, injured personnel will seek treatment from medical robots or treatment pods, which I don’t need to oversee, but I need to review the list of casualties. Once the miscellaneous tasks are handled, I’ll convene a meeting, deploy defenses for the recaptured star, arrange patrols for the regions reallocated to the Alliance, and sign off on the feedback from the new detection system. That is why I haven’t slept yet.”

As Lu Fenghan recounted each matter to Qi Yan, he found great satisfaction in the narrative process, as if he were unraveling his domain piece by piece, allowing Qi Yan to understand what he was doing.

Qi Yan listened attentively, finishing the nutritional supplement and instinctively taking half a step closer to Lu Fenghan.

Consequently, the chill that had risen from the depths of his body diminished slightly.

Recalling Lu Fenghan’s words from earlier in the equipment room, Qi Yan stretched out his hand, “Cold.”

Lu Fenghan was somewhat surprised.

But almost immediately, he enclosed Qi Yan’s offered hand, using his own body heat to warm him.

Lu Fenghan’s actions were incredibly natural, while Qi Yan couldn’t help but remark on his own behavior, “You said, if my hands hurt, if I have nightmares, if anything’s uncomfortable, I can come to you.”

Lu Fenghan’s heart softened, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

So obedient.

He could almost hear the sudden rapid pulsing of his carotid artery, his chest swelling with urgency. He wanted to embrace the person in front of him, but afraid of startling him, he forcibly suppressed the unexpected surge of emotions.

To avoid acting on impulse, Lu Fenghan held onto Qi Yan’s hand and broached the subject at hand, “Starting today, are you going to begin reducing the medication?”

Qi Yan: “Yes, Elisa arranged it that way. But ever since this drug was developed, I was the only one who has taken it. The quantum computers have run many simulations, but we still lack clinical trial.”

Lu Fenghan deliberately had two conversations with Elisa, both revolving around this matter.

This medication was primarily designed to strip away Qi Yan’s emotions, maintaining a state of “absolute rationality” to combat the onslaught of reality distortion and negative emotions.

Now that Lu Fenghan had returned, Elisa believed that although strong negative emotions flooded Qi Yan’s memory like an unending tide, Lu Fenghan was enough to be a steadfast levee.

However, all parties were cautious, fearing that suddenly stopping the medication might trigger a strong withdrawal reaction.

Lu Fenghan was familiar with Qi Yan’s habits. “Is it time to take the medicine?”

“Yes, but I didn’t bring it with me.”

“I’ll accompany you back.”

Qi Yan looked at him inquisitively.

Lu Fenghan understood at a glance, “I’ve taken care of everything in hand. The nearest rebel force stationed there, led by Commander Donald, is highly suspicious and paranoid. I haven’t shown up in the past year, so he’s probably imagined dozens of possibilities by now. With our recent decisive victory, they won’t be able to figure out how they lost so quickly and miserably in such a short time. They might even worry about leaks within their ranks and hastily search for traitors.”

“So there won’t be any hostilities for the time being?”

“Yes, there won’t be any for now. Donald won’t dare to make any reckless moves,” Lu Fenghan led the way out, “Apart from the duty personnel, I’ve arranged for everyone else to go back and rest, to replenish their energy. We need to be at our best for the next victory.”

However, they still encountered quite a few soldiers in uniform along the way from the command room to Qi Yan’s quarters. From their expressions, it was evident that despite Lu Fenghan’s orders to rest, the triumphant victory after a long period of tension had lifted their spirits. Even the atmosphere aboard the command ship was filled with excitement.

Lu Fenghan led Qi Yan at a very slow pace along the short distance. Every few steps, someone would stop on the side of the corridor, standing at attention and saluting. Lu Fenghan had to stop and return the salute with equal seriousness.

However, these people only glanced at Qi Yan discreetly, avoiding prolonged eye contact and quickly moving on after saluting.

Lu Fenghan knew Vincent should have sorted out Qi Yan’s status on the ship, so he wasn’t worried.

Once inside the room, Qi Yan found the transparent medicine bottle, poured out a dose into his palm, and removed a tablet from it.

Lu Fenghan brought him a glass of water.

After taking the medication, Qi Yan asked, “Do you… want to go back and rest first?”

Lu Fenghan hadn’t even thought about leaving since he entered. “No need. Being with you is more beneficial than sleeping for ten hours.”

Qi Yan didn’t know how to respond to that statement.

This was because he could recognize that the statement was illogical and contained emotions that he could not yet understand.

So he chose to remain silent.

Lu Fenghan asked him, “After taking this medication, is it still like the previous medicine, where you feel like you’re walking barefoot in the snow?”

“Yes,” Qi Yan replied after comparing, “but it’s a bit colder, a colder emptiness.”

After speaking, he hesitated again, unsure if he should tell Lu Fenghan these things. Just as he couldn’t understand what it felt like to have emotions, Lu Fenghan probably couldn’t understand what it felt like to have none.

But Lu Fenghan walked over.

Before Qi Yan could fully comprehend, Lu Fenghan reached out and pulled him into an embrace. “Will this make you feel warmer?”

Qi Yan didn’t speak for several seconds, then quietly responded, “…Yes.”

More than just a little warmer.

It was as if he stood barefoot, alone on a snowy plain, and as this person approached step by step, the ice and snow around him melted, ushering in spring.

Two hours after taking the medication, Qi Yan didn’t experience many adverse reactions, just slight trembling in his fingers. He noted the time and symptoms before going to see Lu Fenghan.

Lu Fenghan was seated on the long sofa, reviewing documents on the virtual screen.

A strange longing suddenly welled up in Qi Yan’s heart. Following his instincts, he walked to the side of the sofa, hesitated for two seconds, then lay down next to Lu Fenghan.

Only then did the urgency in his heart subside.

Lu Fenghan asked in a low voice, “Are you tired?”

Qi Yan curled up beside him, whispering softly, “It’s probably a reaction to reducing the medication.”

Otherwise, he couldn’t explain his own behavior.

Lu Fenghan understood.

His voice carried a smile as he commented, “Little clingy spirit.”

Qi Yan didn’t deny it.

Shortly after the words fell, Lu Fenghan’s arm loosely wrapped around Qi Yan’s shoulders.

After reviewing the documents handed to him, Lu Fenghan furrowed his brow and asked Qi Yan, “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Shaking his head, Qi Yan hesitated before suddenly asking, “Do you think I’ve been lying to you?”

“Lying about what?”

“In Leto, I never told you my real identity.”

After asking, Qi Yan carefully scrutinized Lu Fenghan’s expression.

Lu Fenghan immediately recalled Elisa mentioning that during the initial stages of reducing medication Qi Yan would have a certain chance of feeling insecure and overly sensitive. So he answered without hesitation, “Of course not. To me, regardless of your identity, you are still you.”

Qi Yan was easily reassured by this statement.

However, this question reminded Lu Fenghan of the time in Leto when both of them, for certain reasons, couldn’t explicitly reveal their identities to each other.

He glanced down at the person next to him, “Qi Yan.”

“Hmm?”

“On the first day you boarded the command ship and introduced yourself, did I forget to politely introduce myself?”

Qi Yan nodded.

Not only did he fail to introduce his identity, but Lu Fenghan also took quite some time to shake the hand Qi Yan extended to him.

“Then let me make up for it now.”

In the silence, Lu Fenghan’s voice was very soft, tickling Qi Yan’s ears.

“Lu Fenghan, affiliated with the command ship of the Southern Cross Region’s frontline Expeditionary Force, under the Central Army of the Alliance. Hello there, Little Chief.”

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