tyvm Lorettelala, Vaida, and uhimgood for the ko-fi! please have this bonus upload ( ˘ ³˘)♥
Cossen looked up in a daze.
The huge silver-white mech towered like a huge, ancient god. The early morning sunlight shone from the east, enveloping the mech in a dazzling golden glow…
Though the build and the features of the person within the cockpit were different than before, at that moment, Cossen seemed to see that handsome, noble prince be reborn under the light of dawn.
Bathed in the morning sun, the hero’s spirit returns.
Cossen’s emotions surged in his chest, wanting to spill outward. But he also realized he was frozen from head to foot, unable to budge. He was awed by this beautiful, remarkable scene, and found himself unwittingly wanting to swear his allegiance to him…happy to crawl at his feet.
Veronica covered her mouth tightly, tears streaming down her face. But still she couldn’t keep herself from becoming choked with sobs.
What had she heard?
Her brother was back…Was this a dream?
Just like those countless nights’ dreams of her brother returning, piloting Zhuria…
Ye Ming stood blankly in the cockpit. He was no less astonished than the two people down below. After a long time, he finally realized that Zhuria had been addressing him…
Zhuria had the most advanced gene identification system; aside from Her Highness Veronica, only His Highness Saen could activate her.
Only Saen.
So…this was his identity?
His past human identity.
Ye Ming suddenly felt the rims of his eyes burning. Something hot seemed to be flowing from his eyes. He finally…knew who he was.
He was no longer a lonesome soul wandering the universe. He was no longer only one of Xicks’s countless pawns. He was no longer a nameless infected, an ugly creature welded together from a human carcass and an alien beast…
He had his own identity, his own past…and his own family.
Though he no longer had memories of being human, though he was once controlled by death and darkness…he’d always longed to have a home to return to. He didn’t want to be just a pitiful infected, a wild ghost forsaken by humans even after he died once again.
Even in death, he could only be spurned and forgotten.
Ye Ming slowly released his grip on the gear stick, and the screens surrounding him turned off immediately. He spread his arms and leapt down. The immense impact left deep footprints on the ground as he landed.
Slowly, Ye Ming straightened and looked at the people in front of him. He wanted to say something, but his throat was choked up, and he didn’t manage to say anything, because he didn’t remember anymore…He didn’t have any memory of being Saen. He was nothing more than something Xicks had created from Saen’s body and a part of itself.
Just as Ye Ming was overcome with hesitation and qualms, Veronica suddenly rushed toward him, embracing him tightly!
Cossen stood a few steps away from them, watching the young man in front of him, dazed. Finally, his blank gaze landed on that one remaining purple eye…That eye was exactly the same as Saen’s.
All of a sudden, Cossen was a bit at a loss as to how to face Ye Ming. This was the one he loved very, very dearly, but…he was actually Saen, his former good friend.
And Cossen…without knowing, fell in love with him, and was so forceful with him. As soon as he thought of how the person whom Cossen had treated like that and was so intimate with was Saen, for a split second, Cossen was panicked and at a complete loss…
Veronica hugged Ye Ming tight, feeling the warmth of his body and the beating of his heart. Her tears soaked Ye Ming’s clothes. She opened her mouth and choked out, “Gege…”
Ye Ming hesitated a moment, then eventually lifted his hand and gently returned Veronica’s hug.
Even now, he still had a feeling of disbelief. He had an identity now, just like that? And this honorable princess was his sister?
But…his affection for her, which he could feel running in his blood, his worry when he watched her fight, his sadness when he watched her weep…these emotions of his all seemed to have an explanation now that his identity had been revealed.
Maybe Saen was still alive inside of him after all.
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.
Ye Ming stared at her. After a long moment, a look of relief appeared in his eyes. He smiled a little. “Don’t cry. I’m here.”
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The truth was he was someone who’d already died once. He was a hybridized creation that Xicks made using Saen’s identity. To some degree, he couldn’t strictly be considered to be the original Saen…He was really glad to have an identity and home, but since he didn’t have any of Saen’s memories or looks, he was probably nothing more than a stranger to his family.
He couldn’t bear to let Veronica down.
Veronica’s purple eyes glistened with tears of joy. She could sense Ye Ming’s uneasiness and said earnestly, “It’s okay. Everything gege forgot I can tell you about, one by one.”
There was a tingling sensation in Ye Ming’s nose. It looked like…his family wasn’t going to turn their backs on him. On the contrary, they cared deeply for him…
Veronica finally calmed down a little bit, though she still looked just as worked up. She swiped at her eyes and said excitedly, “I’m going to tell Mother and Father! They—they’ll definitely be overjoyed to find out that you’re still alive! I’m going to tell them the good news! Gege, come visit them. They miss you so much!”
Thinking about how he was to meet the emperor and empress, Ye Ming felt a little bit uncomfortable all of a sudden. He was a little bit unused to this enormous leap in status. But in his heart, he longed terribly to see his past family…In the end, Veronica dragged him into her room.
Veronica immediately turned on the communicator, and the other party soon picked up. The dignified emperor and the graceful empress appeared in the video. They gazed kindly at Veronica and said warmly, “Vera, is there something urgent? Did you run into any difficulties? Why were you crying?”
Veronica wrinkled her nose and dragged the uncomfortable Ye Ming in front of them. She declared distinctly, “Father, Mother, I found gege. He’s gege. He activated Zhuria!”
At that moment, despite being far, far apart, they could all sense the quiet atmosphere from both ends of the video. Suddenly, the empress said shakily, “Vera, are you sure…?”
Veronica nodded vehemently. “I’m sure! Zhuria recognized gege. She called him Your Highness Saen! There definitely can’t be any mistake! No one else in the entire universe can replace gege!”
The empress burst into tears. She watched Ye Ming, speechless.
Astonishment was written all across the emperor’s face as well, but as emperor, he was better at controlling his emotions. Only the trembling of his hands betrayed his inner turmoil. “Saen, my child, you’re back…?”
Ye Ming studied the two people in the video. These were his parents? His family…they cared for him and loved him so much.
Ye Ming’s voice was a little bit choked up and shaky as he said with his head lowered, “I-I don’t have my old memories. I just activated Zhuria by accident…” He was very moved and very happy, but what if they later realized that Ye Ming wasn’t really their son?
The emperor picked up on Ye Ming’s apprehensiveness. He knew that right now, this child must be even more confused and helpless than them because he didn’t remember anything at all, and he’d gone through so many trials and tribulations. Warmly, he said, “Don’t be afraid. We’ll arrange everything, and you’ll be able to come home soon.”
When Ye Ming heard the two words ‘come home,’ tears began streaming down his cheeks again.
The emperor and empress asked Ye Ming many more questions before finally reluctantly ending the call. They needed to arrange a clear announcement to the world that Saen was back. After all, Harvey’s identity had brought a lot of negativity. They had to handle the process carefully. They definitely couldn’t allow this child to suffer any more grievances!
Veronica finally calmed down. Her tone serious, she said, “Gege, don’t worry. I’ll protect you for sure. I won’t let anyone bully you! If anyone dares talk bad about you or slander you, just see what I do to them!” She clenched her fists as she spoke, looking ready to become violent and beat someone up at any moment.
Ye Ming burst into laughter at her appearance, his heart endlessly warm. “Thank you, though you don’t need to do that. People will find out the truth eventually, whatever it may be. There’s no need to argue with people who don’t understand.”
Veronica listened to Ye Ming’s gentle, forgiving tone, and was suddenly reminded of how her brother used to be. He was always this gentle, generous person. When you were with him, the whole world seemed to brighten up. He always brought goodness; everything dark and dirty vanished in his presence. Veronica wasn’t as good as her brother in the end…
But that was okay. Her brother was the best anyway! Better than anyone else.
Veronica nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen to you! But we’ll publicly announce your identity as soon as possible. Let’s see who still dares talk badly about you then, hmph~”
Ye Ming shook his head, smiling, and didn’t say anything else.
He and Veronica walked out the room together and discovered that Cossen had been standing at the door the whole time. Now as he watched him exit, his dark red eyes were fixed intently on him. The intense affection and complicated struggle within them were unconcealable and nearly tangible.
All along, Veronica had known of Cossen and Ye Ming’s relationship. Previously, she didn’t have any feelings about it, but now—she suddenly had a very awkward sort of feeling.
God, she only just now realized that her brother and Cossen had become lovers! And they’d slept together! The world was turning upside down!
As she thought about how Cossen had taken advantage of the fact that her brother didn’t have any memories or status to lure him in, Veronica suddenly felt very indignant! Her brother had clearly only treated him as a friend before! Cossen had ripped him off.
Cossen didn’t pay Veronica any mind. All along, he was watching Ye Ming earnestly; his gaze didn’t shift in the slightest, as if, right now, the two of them were the only people in the entire world.
In the time they had been in the call, Cossen had already sorted out his emotions. No matter who Ye Ming used to be or whether or not his appearance had changed…the one Cossen loved was the person in front of him. What Cossen loved was this soul; that had never changed.
All Saen’s identity proved was that he was indeed the one worthy of Cossen’s love.
Even though he looked different now and no longer had his memories, his heart, which wanted to protect humanity, and his spirit, which was strong and unyielding, did not change under any external pressures…He had the most dazzling, beautiful soul in the world.
He saw in him the radiance of human nature.
Cossen suddenly strode up to Ye Ming and knelt down on one knee before him. He laid one hand on his chest, and with the other he gently took Ye Ming’s right hand and bowed his head, giving it a kiss.
Then he raised his head and solemnly said, “I swear on my life to protect you with all that I have, my prince.”
That time, I wasn’t able to save you. This time, I will absolutely protect you, even if it costs me my life.
My lover, my king.
I will dedicate my entire life to following you; I exist for you.
[Ding, Cossen’s blackening value -5, current blackening value 0]
Ye Ming lowered his head and fell into those bottomless, dark red eyes. The burning fervor within them was like flames that could consume everything.
He suddenly turned his hand over and tightly gripped Cossen’s. He bent over and gently kissed his forehead. Profound emotions brimming in his gentle eyes, he said, “I believe you.”
Because you’ve always been protecting me. It turns out that a long, long time ago…you tried to save me. And now you’re still protecting me.
No matter who I used to be, I’ve never regretted falling in love with you.
Initially, Veronica was a little bit upset about Cossen being with her brother, but as she watched Cossen’s actions, solemn as if he were swearing an oath, her expression suddenly became dignified as well.
With Cossen’s status, he didn’t need to kneel even to the emperor. His power over the military was not inferior to the royal family’s. In his previous friendship with her brother, they were always equals. He had never behaved as piously, as humbly as he did now.
He was like a knight facing his king.
Veronica was suddenly not so dissatisfied anymore. Since Cossen liked her brother so much…then she would reluctantly accept it. Of course, most important was the fact that her brother seemed to like him back…
As long as her brother liked him, then she might as well accept it.
Veronica coughed quietly. “I still have some stuff to do. I’ll leave first…”
Cossen surely wasn’t feeling very calm right now either. It was better to give the two of them some time alone.
Veronica was reluctant to leave. She still had a lot of stuff to prepare for, she thought. She couldn’t wait to declare her brother’s identity to the whole world! She would see who still dared slander him then!
Cossen stood up from the ground and looked down, gazing deeply at the person in front of him. A tiny, gentle smile grew on his stern face. He said, his voice deep, “I think I ought to call you Saen now…”
To tell the truth, he really wasn’t very used to it…
Ye Ming recalled Cossen’s actions from a moment ago. His face was still a little red. He turned away slightly. “You can call me whatever you want.”
Cossen smiled a little and raised his eyebrows. “True, names aren’t important, you are.”
Ye Ming’s eyelashes fluttered. Initially, he was a little bit worried. He didn’t want Cossen to be distant because of his identity. Now, it looked like Cossen hadn’t been affected too much. He finally snapped out of it and gazed at him, concerned. He said, “I’ve been very worried about you for the past couple days.”
Cossen’s gaze softened even more upon hearing his words. He said, “I’ll be fine, because when I’m out there fighting, I think about how you’re still waiting for me. I have to come back and protect you. I absolutely can’t die.”
Ye Ming’s flushed a deeper red. Cossen didn’t speak so straightforwardly in the past…
Cossen embraced Ye Ming gently.
He was extremely shocked at first, but it was immediately followed by even stronger joy at his old friend’s return.
I’m truly very, very happy you’re still alive. I used to really regret not being able to rescue you. But now, unexpectedly, I have another chance to protect you. Our relationship has already taken on a different shape—this time, you’re not only my friend, you’re also my lover.
But my desire to protect you will never change.
………………
Ever since Ye Ming’s identity was unveiled, Veronica really wished she could stick to his side every day. The proud princess acted like a nervous little girl, but she was also bursting with protectiveness. She was always worried that her brother, who’d forgotten the past, would suffer even the slightest grievance, and she dedicated herself to protecting him 120%, to the point that Ye Ming began to feel a bit embarrassed.
He merely didn’t have Saen’s memories. It didn’t mean he had to be protected like a child.
But Ye Ming also really couldn’t bring himself to rebuff Veronica’s intentions. He could tell Veronica loved and cared for him a lot. These were the intentions of his family. He should accept them calmly—that would be the best thing to do for them in return.
Ever since the first wave of Xicks’s attack was beaten back, the fighting at the borders of the fortress subsided some.
But just when everyone began to relax a little bit, thinking that Xicks was going to withdraw like it had before, all the infected of Fort Müller suddenly rose up, following which Xicks launched another attack!
Although from Roy’s torture, they had uncovered over a hundred infected hidden in the military, Roy only knew of small portion of them. He was unaware of a very large portion. These infected were hiding in the army and among civilians. When they revolted at the same time, it reduced Fort Müller to utter chaos! Meanwhile, the alien beasts coming in from outside made it clear that Xicks had been holding back in the previous wave of attacks. This was the true attack!
Xicks had been secretly gathering its strength for the past three years during Cossen’s strict defense. This time, it emerged at nearly full strength. The alien beasts covered the skies, changing the color of it! The battle suddenly turned critical!
The terrible sight wasn’t any better than the last two times. People began to get scared.
In the face of such a critical situation, Veronica’s mood dropped; even much of her joy seeped out of her. And Ye Ming was even more worried.
Bad news arrived one after the other. In one battle, Marshal Cossen was caught in Xicks’s trap. He managed to escape in the end, but he was heavily injured!
This time, Ye Ming seriously couldn’t just sit by anymore. Anxiously, he told Veronica, “I want to go see Cossen.”
Veronica understood her brother’s worry. Firmly, she said, “I’ll take you.”
Ye Ming nodded, put on a change of clothes, and left with Veronica. This was the first time he’d stepped foot outside of the manor recently. Previously, he had stayed inside without going anywhere so as not to cause trouble for Veronica and Cossen.
But now he couldn’t stay here indifferently anymore. He was very worried about Cossen’s injuries.
Cossen was undergoing treatment at the military base. As it was now wartime, the base was more heavily guarded than it previously was. Even Veronica needed to go through strict identity authentication in order to go in and out.
But just when Veronica was going to bring Ye Ming in with her, they ran into a problem.
The guard soldiers immediately recognized Ye Ming—Ye Ming was that infamous traitor Harvey, a suspect in the destruction of Fort Frederick three years ago. And this time, once again, it was all because of those infected revolting that landed Fort Müller in danger.
Now even the marshal was injured…all of this made the soldiers even more opposed to and distrustful of the infected, and very sensitive, too.
The guard soldiers cried, “Your Highness, no infected is allowed inside of the base!”
Because of the soldiers’ loud volume, others also looked in their direction and discovered Ye Ming. Everyone stared at him, red-eyed. Though both Cossen and Veronica had said that Ye Ming was wrongly accused and wasn’t the true traitor, many people were still suspicious…Plus, in a time like this, being an infected would easily arouse people’s joint hatred.
Because of the commotion, which involved Her Highness Veronica and the traitor Harvey, the base’s high-ranking officers quickly hurried over.
Brody also heard. He’d been keeping watch by Cossen’s side, but hearing that Harvey had come, he left with the crowd as well, looking extremely anxious. But he wasn’t able to protect Harvey at all, with his rank. He only hoped Her Highness Veronica wouldn’t buckle under the pressure and would defend Harvey, that she wouldn’t easily abandon him.
Veronica took a step forward, standing next to Ye Ming. She proudly lifted her chin, the penetrating gaze of her purple eyes sweeping over the crowd. She was tall and her temperament chilly. Together with her beautiful features, it made her seem very imposing!
General Monroe stepped forth from the group of officers. Despite the deference in his tone, he also sounded unyielding. “Your Highness Veronica, you can visit the marshal if you want, but this infected doesn’t have the qualifications to enter. The base is now on maximum alert. All infected must be executed or isolated! They absolutely may not enter the base!”
Ye Ming pursed his lips tightly. He could tell that the situation indeed wasn’t very optimistic. General Monroe had actually given Veronica a lot of face already by not being even more hard-nosed…If it weren’t for Veronica’s protection, these angry soldiers would very likely have killed him straight away, regardless of the consequences.
Just as they’d slaughtered those infected out of fear and anger back then.
Veronica swept her gaze over the crowd. Though she stood alone, surrounded and under their scrutiny, she was not at all cowed.
She opened her mouth slightly, her gaze burning and her voice clear and distinct. “He’s my brother Saen. If he doesn’t have the qualifications to enter, then who does?!”
beansprout: ughhhh nooo my heart sank when keke’s blackening value went down to 0 because we all know what that means q_q
konswa: aren’t we all hybridized creations though. Because carbon’s doing all kinds of orbital hybridization :/
This is so wholesome i love it 😭❤️ Thanks for the chapter!! Also… pls don’t leave this world soon </3
konswa comment make me choke back my tears 😂
Right lol
Lmao +2
+3 I was ready to be in angst but science slap me in the face and wake me up lmao 😂
Veronica is about to smack down these dogs!
Ahhh I hoard the chapters for a month but it still not reached the most angst part: the ending, that it makes mewonder why I tortured myself like this 😂😂
Wuwu. Why immediately 0? There’s still not enough lovey-dovey between them!! Sigh. Looking forward to more!!!
Thanks for the chapter! ^ ^)/
Noo only one chapter left in this arc T-T
konswa why I have to say that… it made me remember my chem homework wuwuwuwuwu
Veronica has my heart and entire being. I would give my life for Veronica
Don’t talk chemistry I am just a simple minded BL fan, my mind can’t react 😄