Moon Theory (ABO)Ch71 - restart, a week later

‘Dear father,

I am in District 39 by the Mura Woodlands – that one beautiful forest you also mentioned you’ve visited when you were young. It is with sincere apologies that I may not take a photo for you. There isn’t much to see, however, for the place is all stripped-down trees and trampled weeds. It is hardly a comparison to the lush greenery you hold in your mind. 8H2joi

Another decade, I suppose, and the radiation would drain our planet dry.

I’ve written to you last week, but more things have changed. The First Unit is now gathered again, though Colonel Yang is less of his talkative self. He hardly gives instructions as he used to. Just yesterday, he had zoned out mid-battle and was almost impaled by a twin-tailed fox. It is fortunate that Jae shot it down.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

We’ve been tasked with mission after mission – purposefully, perhaps, because I have an inkling Colonel Yang does not want his mind to wander elsewhere.

There are many tasks to complete, and I am afraid I will have to cut this letter short once again. Thirty minutes from now, half past midnight, I would have to give a report to the Nexus and confirm our presence in the summit meeting. Rather, it is to confirm Colonel Yang’s attendance, for I am but a foot soldier. kzZ8JT

The topics of the meeting may be of interest to you, father. You have always enjoyed scientific discoveries.

For instance… from what I’ve heard, the Nexus is theorizing electromagnetic fields. I am uncertain of the details, but they say a field large enough to encompass Earth would take a substantial amount of time and resources. Quite impossible to be accomplished this generation. Perhaps it could have been done optimally if we had even more skilled researchers. The population is dwindling, and not even embryotic incubations can offset.

But I digress. I do not fully understand such things and I do wish you were here to explain more clearly.

If you were alive, I reckon you’d be immersed.

Alas, normal people like us could only hope for the more intelligent to—’

“—Li Jiayun.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

A voice interrupts her, her ballpoint pen stopping mid-scrawl. It is a familiar scene – the redhead soldier sitting by a desk, her frame illuminated by candlelight, and then by the door stands a tall raven-haired man. One look at the handsome man and she immediately jumps out of her seat, trained to salute.

“Tfr, Jbibcfi Tjcu!” rtf gfqilfr klat oeii nlubg. “Pr la jcbatfg wlrrlbc? P rlcmfgfis jqbibulhf obg cba cbalcu la lc ws lalcfgjgs, yea P klii wjxf jvperawfcar lwwfvljafis. Po sbe rb klrt, P klii tbiv boo bc mbcajmalcu Jbwwjcv.” v6WZj1

Ol Aljsec rajgfr ja atf mbibcfi’r jaalgf – tf tjvc’a ajxfc boo tlr eclobgw rlcmf atfs’v mbwf yjmx ogbw jc fzqfvlalbc j ofk tbegr jub. Ktf rbivlfg rajgfr ja tfg bkc mjreji qjpjwjr jcv lr oierafgfv ys tfg lwqgbqglfas. “P-P klii ufa mtjcufv lwwfvljafis!” rtf rjsr jujlc ofgnfcais. “Uifjrf jiibk wf akfcas rfmbcvr ab—”

“It is fine,” replies Yang Rong. “I’ve only come to ask a favor.”

He stands by the wooden door in all of his noir glory, looking wholly expressionless. It is not often that Li Jiayun finds the colonel this intimidating. It subtly reminds her of when she’d first joined the First Unit, a day when an expedition had gone awry and when Yang Rong bore the losses of dozens of soldiers. He wore the same apathy on his face then – complete dissociation.

Two years under his command and Li Jiayun believes she has a fairly decent grasp of his two personas – one off-duty and one on the field. The former is more jovial (usually, though he hasn’t been his same joking self). The latter has little empathy, the persona he bears when equipped in a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle. cnxadR

She had heard that Colonel Yang was raised by the current general – only rumors, of course, that flew around word of mouth insinuating how similar of values they both hold. Some more bizarre rumors escalate that General Xie sees Yang Rong as a replacement for his dead son – not like there was much information on the boy regardless.

‘Xie Xing,’ his name was in the public database, was birthed secretly and was kept away from the eyes of the crowd. Not very strange, for General Xie has always been prone to privacy and no one dared ask. So there have always been mysteries – the subject of General Xie, his wife and son who’d died in the border incident almost thirteen years ago, and the upbringing of Colonel Yang.

Li Jiayun looks at the colonel still standing by the door, still awaiting her response. The redhead soldier immediately blinks herself back to focus. She had lost track of her ever-meandering thoughts. It takes a moment for her to respond.

“A favor?” she repeats quickly. “Certainly, Colonel Yang. I strive to do my utmost to accommodate.” ZfCQwO

And like she mentioned, she really does have a decent grasp of the man’s two personas. But recently, they’ve both morphed into one conflicting mess. Colonel Yang displays more perplexity than he ever did. The man, usually so dignified in his right, bears the same feigned stoicism. Empathy flickers subtly in his forest-green eyes… usually when it comes to a certain individual.

Li Jiayun is not blind to the way he looks at Noah (from first meeting until now, Colonel Yang often snuck glances at the silver-haired young man). He himself may be unaware of it, but the soldiers of the First Unit, Li Jiayun included, think his favoritism could not be any clearer.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“I only want you to check up on him,” the colonel says (and he’s trying very hard to not let his façade crack, Li Jiayun is entirely aware). “In case he breaks into a fever.”

“Certainly, Colonel Yang,” she replies. “But I have redressed his wounds, replaced his water and left the medication by his bedside just in case he wakes – as per your request an hour ago. I also checked his temperature, and everything is normal. He seems to be recuperating well, though the wound will take some weeks to heal completely.” DWUN7a

“Check again,” Yang Rong replies with a slight frown. “He is prone to getting cold. While you are at it, it would be convenient to wipe off his sweat.”

Li Jiayun would like to tell him that they had done that. Just two hours ago, actually, when Jae and she were ordered to once again replace his water bottle (nevermind that Noah hadn’t even been awake to drink from it).

She only swallows her words, however, and nods in affirmation. “Then Colonel Yang, I will see to it immediately. But… perhaps you come with me?”

Yang Rong’s face scrunches up in complication, only for him to instantly school himself back to passivity. “There are certain tasks I must take care of, so I leave the rest to you.” dRG 7g

The man turns around then and starts heading out the door. It is unknown where he’s going but from his attire, he may be going out hunting yet again. Slaughtering anomalies for no reason – an outlet for frustration, maybe, or it’s that he’s desperate to settle back into normality. Back to the colonel he was before Noah arrived. Again, Li Jiayun is no fool to his conundrum.

But this is a man she’s followed for two full years. Although their relations aren’t exactly close (not in any sentimental sense, for no soldier finds camaraderie too necessary when they are one radioactive scratch away from death), Li Jiayun feels certain empathy.

So, she makes up an excuse.

“—Colonel Yang!” she says before he is out of earshot. The redhead rushes forward, opens a medicine cabinet and grabs a whole bunch of miscellaneous things. She hadn’t looked at any of the contents, merely taking everything at random, and she turns to the colonel with panicked doe eyes. “I-I’m afraid I cannot carry all this alone, Colonel Yang. I may not be able to bring a towel, either, so if I may be audacious enough to ask… would you be able to lend a hand?” vcQMSG

As far as excuses go, this is certainly a very obvious, poorly executed one. It is only fortunate that Colonel Yang is a tad dimwitted (though neither Jae nor she would never say to his face). The man’s lips purse into a frown and he seems to be thinking of a million unknown scenarios.

Perplexity turns into even greater perplexity and then he opens his mouth to say, “…Is his condition this poor to need so much medicine?”

“…” After a short moment of silence, Li Jiayun recovers to nod fervently. “Y-Yes! A-As we’ve expected, omegas have typically frailer constitutions than alphas and even betas. It is precisely this reason that Noah still hasn’t woken.”

“…I see,” replies the colonel with a small frown. “Then I will get a warm towel. Wait for me.” SKXBa5

She does wait for him – in front of Noah’s room, that is.

When the colonel arrives a minute later, he only hands her the towel silently.

Li Jiayun could ask him why he remains behind as she enters. She could also ask why he opts to lean against the wall and close his eyes, staying in the vicinity but refusing to get closer. She could ask why his posture is stiffened to the point of rigor mortis, his face downcast and his bangs half covering his eyes.

But Li Jiayun understands the implications entirely. 8rLFcI

She doesn’t close the door behind her when she steps inside the room. It hardly matters because Colonel Yang isn’t keen to look anyway. Truth be told, Li Jiayun only has a small inkling of what had happened. Something about a crackdown in a shelter – intel provided information about some half-hybrids ran amok. The orders were to capture if possible and to ship them to the Nexus for experimentation. Something else about Noah – she can only fill in the blanks.

Li Jiayun does a quick checkup on Noah’s condition. Nothing out of the ordinary. The young man is still deep asleep on a bed with the softest mattress they own and also the softest quilts they have. His breathing is steady, and his heart rate is normal – not like Li Jiayun was expecting him to get into cardiac arrest in all of two hours. Colonel Yang seems to think otherwise.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

She simply places all the medicine packets on the bedstand, swaps out the unopened water bottle with another unopened water bottle and exits shortly after.

“…Well?” asks the colonel when she closes the door. “How is he?” mf6yEl

“He is in stable condition, Colonel Yang,” the soldier dutifully replies. “He is sound asleep.”

“Alright,” the man responds with a nod. “Then go rest up. We have a retrieval mission in two hours.”

The colonel shows no signs of leaving, however. He still leans against the adjacent wall, his arms crossed, his posture not as stiff but still telling.

“Colonel Yang…” Li Jiayun brings up a final topic before she leaves. “There are some matters regarding Noah. An hour ago, Command has deciphered the soldier’s black box.” ld PIM