Chapter 19: Invitation
In the First Regiment, the Silver Wolf was Lu Yi’s representative.
When Lu Yi’s mental domain was in its most chaotic state, requiring him to enter an isolation treatment room and connect to various medical lines, he would handle some of the regiment’s affairs through the mental link with the Silver Wolf.
The soldiers in the First Regiment, especially those in the First Squad who knew the truth, treated the Silver Wolf with the same respect as they would Lu Yi himself.
No one would dare to play a handshaking game with the Silver Wolf.
Outside the rest cabin, Rong Mi was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning forward, extending his left hand, and coaxing, “One more time. Right paw! Come on, just shake once more. This is a way to show gratitude…”
The Silver Wolf, having returned to its juvenile form, sat upright opposite Rong Mi. A small bundle, its ice-blue eyes stared at him. It lightly flicked its tail, then raised its front paw. Though the movement was subtle, it showed an intention to cooperate with Rong Mi.
Rong Mi immediately reached out and shook the wolf’s paw.
It was soft, fluffy, and very warm. The claws were somewhat sharp, but that was a symbol of the wolf’s strength! Nothing wrong with that!
As he thought this, he gently squeezed the soft pad of the wolf’s paw.
The Silver Wolf gave him a glance and withdrew its paw with subtle indifference.
Lu Yi was leaning against the cabin door, silent for a moment before speaking, “Ayin likes you.”
This wasn’t common.
The Silver Wolf, which had inherited most of Lu Yi’s subconscious, was very aloof towards strangers. After Lu Yi’s last severe injury to his mental domain, sensing the potential danger around him, the wolf had grown even more averse to others approaching. Apart from Lu Yi, even members of the First Squad could not get close to the wolf.
“Probably because we saved each other.” Rong Mi said in a serious tone. He raised his head to look at Lu Yi, his smile becoming a bit carefree, as though he were casually joking.
The young man temporarily gave up on the task of coaxing the wolf to extend its paw for a handshake and instead focused on his patient. “You’re up already? The high-level treatment device on the starship is broken. The lower-level device can only treat surface wounds. The internal injuries you sustained from the disorder in your mental domain haven’t been healed yet. Don’t you want to sleep a bit longer?”
“The investigation team from the military department should be arriving soon.” Lu Yi glanced at the time on his communication wristband.
Rong Mi nodded, then realized something was off.
“Your eyes.” He pointed to his own eyes, “The color of your pupils has changed.”
From the silvery color that matched the wolf’s fur, it had turned to the ice-blue of the wolf’s eyes.
“The silver is because of using mental power,” Lu Yi said briefly.
Rong Mi blinked.
He had never heard of anyone whose eyes changed color due to mental power!
…Could it be some kind of special genetic disease?
However, since Lu Yi didn’t offer an explanation, Rong Mi didn’t ask further.
He followed Lu Yi toward the cockpit. As they passed through the starship’s corridor, Rong Mi could catch a glimpse through the cabin’s glass of a part of the large body of a level-five Ice Butterfly below.
With each breath it took, its pale blue wings fluttered gently, rising and falling irregularly.
Such high-level Ice Butterflies weren’t very common in the battle zones.
Lu Yi knew that many soldiers, whether new arrivals or those who had been in the battle zone for some time, would feel fear when seeing a high-level Ice Butterfly, even if it were asleep.
But Rong Mi merely glanced out the window, confirming that the Ice Butterfly showed no signs of waking, and then withdrew his gaze. The expression on his face was calm, almost unconsciously used to it.
“We have to cooperate with the investigation,” Rong Mi sighed, following Lu Yi toward the cockpit. He had always found such things troublesome.
Moreover, his actions now were very different from the original body’s.
“Don’t worry,” Lu Yi glanced at him and said in a calm voice, “I will explain your situation to the investigation team first.”
“Alright.” Rong Mi replied with a smile, though not very seriously.
Lu Yi looked young, and Rong Mi instinctively thought he had just recently entered the military department and probably didn’t hold a high rank, so he likely didn’t have much influence in front of the military investigation team. Rong Mi continued to carefully consider the “flaws” in his own story.
The mecha piloting skills could be explained as something he learned on his own in private. The improvement in mental power could be explained as a temporary breakthrough when surrounded by the Ice Butterfly cocoon room.
As for his extreme proficiency in fighting the Ice Butterfly and the special hypnotic waves… For the first, he could only hope the investigation team wouldn’t pay too much attention. For the second, he could only say it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, a lucky coincidence.
Lu Yi suddenly spoke, “Do you want to join the First Regiment?”
“The regiment system is well-organized and fair. The atmosphere is great.”
Rong Mi was still lost in thought.
“I was thinking of going to the military department, but I don’t really want to join the First Regiment for now,” he said casually. “I have a grudge with your regiment commander. I stood him up… I had initially agreed to be his therapist, but then changed my mind.”
Lu Yi paused for a moment, then turned to look at him. “Why?”
He had never asked this question before, as he had never been interested in the answer.
Rong Mi let out an ‘ah’ and brought up the original body’s reason for breaking the agreement.
“Because I heard your regiment commander is old and has a bad temper, and he keeps a wolf-type battle pet that bites people, so I didn’t want to go…”
“Ah, of course! I’m not saying wolves are bad! Wolves are super cool! Fluffy star beasts are not at fault! And usually, after a star beast signs a contract with a human, they rarely attack innocent bystanders… So it must be that your regiment commander didn’t raise the wolf well!”
Halfway through his speech, Rong Mi realized what he had said and quickly glanced at the Silver Wolf beside him, loudly clarifying, “But even though there are so many wolf-type star beasts in the world! Our Ah Yin is the coolest… the cutest!”
The Silver Wolf, walking calmly beside Lu Yi, subtly wagged its tail. It was a sign of being in a good mood.
Lu Yi: “…”
“By the way, does Ah Yin have a therapist?” Rong Mi suddenly thought of this question and turned to ask Lu Yi.
“Ah Yin’s mental power level is very high,” the General replied plainly. “Currently, no therapist is capable of entering his mental domain, except you.”
Rong Mi was silent for a moment, then softly clicked his tongue.
“Poor thing,” he murmured, “no one to treat his mental domain even after it’s injured. I wonder how long he’s been enduring it.”
While speaking, he looked at Lu Yi and said sincerely, “So, do you want to hire me as Ah Yin’s therapist?”
Lu Yi stopped walking and met his gaze.
The young man’s expression was earnest, with a hint of worry about the Silver Wolf’s mental domain in his eyes.
After a pause, Lu Yi nodded slightly. “If you want.”
“Of course, I do! I think Ah Yin really needs a personal therapist! Someone to monitor his mental domain daily, provide regular treatment, and be available for emergencies,” Rong Mi spoke faster, his excitement growing at the thought of seeing the Silver Wolf every day. “You know, a therapist who eats and lives with him! Private… ah, no, private wolf therapist, not part of your regiment, not responsible for treating other personnel. After all, I don’t want to do nothing but treat people every day; I also want to pilot some mechas…”
Rong Mi mumbled, then quickly returned to the main point.
“Also, as Ah Yin’s therapist, you have to cover my food, accommodation, and pay me!” The young man raised a finger, very determined, and argued logically, “Because in order to treat the wolf’s mental domain, I need to treat yours as well!”
He could treat the wolf’s mental domain for free, but treating humans couldn’t be free!
Lu Yi looked up and his expression subtly shifted.
His own mental domain situation was almost beyond complete healing.
The problem wasn’t just the chaos in his mental sea or the widespread corruption of his mental tree by the insect race.
It was that the roots of his mental tree had been severed during a battle many years ago, and the break had been slowly expanding ever since. No medicine could stop it.
When the roots were completely severed, the mental tree would collapse, the mental domain would collapse, and his life would come to an end.
It was a secret that few knew, even within the First Regiment.
Rong Mi hadn’t started deep treatment during his previous healing sessions, so he had no knowledge of Lu Yi’s condition.
After a long pause, Lu Yi finally nodded slightly.
The secret of his mental domain didn’t matter much to Rong Mi, who was focused on treating the wolf.
After his death, the wolf would still be the wolf, but its actions would no longer be influenced by his subconscious. Perhaps the wolf might even be more likable than it was now.
“I have one to three months of leave on Capital Star,” Lu Yi said, changing the topic. “After that, I will leave the safe zone and return to the battle zone.”
“Good.” Rong Mi agreed eagerly, “One to three months is just enough to treat the wolf’s mental domain.”
“Your mental domain will be a bit more troublesome. However, once it stabilizes, you won’t need constant treatment, just a check-up every few months.”
“I see there will be an open selection by the military department in over a month. I might also go to the battle zone then.”
During the interstellar nomadic era, battle zones were everywhere, and there was never any concept of a safe zone.
Rong Mi had adapted well to these two words and was even a bit curious.
He had never seen what a battle zone from the glorious old era looked like!
As they continued walking toward the cockpit, Rong Mi unconsciously yawned a few times.
Lu Yi glanced at him and motioned toward the rear passageway. “Go rest. I won’t crash the starship, no need to watch.”
“I’ll call you when the investigation team needs to ask questions.”
Rong Mi responded with an “okay.”
Each to their own specialty, he didn’t know how to pilot a starship—only how to operate mental power weapons.
“Use full manual mode.” Rong Mi obediently turned around, then recalled how the wolf had almost used its mental power earlier, so he warned, “Don’t use mental power today! Best to avoid it for the entire week, just like the wolf.”
He mumbled under his breath, “But you can’t wear a collar carelessly… do you have a mental power suppressing bracelet?”
Lu Yi: “…”
Lu Yi glanced down at the deep purple mental power collar always worn by the Silver Wolf, furrowing his brow slightly. He reached up to touch his own neck.
This subtle, almost imperceptible feeling had become so familiar over time that he had almost grown used to the wolf wearing something that completely belonged to someone else.
Rong Mi: “Lu Yi, do you want to buy a mental power suppressing bracelet?”