Chapter 74 : Chapter 74

Chapter 74 : “I didn't even change his character design, but he comes and changes mine?”

Azul sniffed and said, “You’re making me a little unhappy.”

Lu Anji’s scalp tingled, and he pressed down hard on the joints on Azul’s back.

He could feel the slight movements of the joints.

Azul usually coiled his tail around his waist and hid it with the academy’s oversized jacket.

It wasn’t obvious when he moved, but it could shoot out of his clothes at any time.

Piercing a few people would be a matter of blinking.

Originally, Lu Anji didn't want to go to the infirmary.

His calf wasn't broken, but the instructor had always valued him and refused to budge.

When he arrived at the infirmary, Lu Anji saw a few gray dots on the real-time display of the combat practice.

He was still wearing the simulation device for combat exercises, which could display the online status of all students.

Before the school doctor could finish treating him, Lu Anji immediately rushed to the library.

The best-case scenario was that these students just had something to do and logged off temporarily.

The second-best-case scenario was that they were called by the teacher to the library to catch someone, but they hadn't run into Azul yet.

The worst-case scenario was that Azul had already strung them up like a human skewer.

When Lu Anji arrived, the situation was between the second-best and the worst.

After coming to the academy, Azul's emotions were even more difficult to figure out.

The most serious time Lu Anji had been in Azul’s hands was when he had cursed the Zerg Queen in front of him.

Azul had tightened his grip on his neck without any expression, the bone joints almost completely sinking into his flesh.

At that time, Azul still had an innocent expression with his mouth turned up, and said, you can’t say that about mother.

In most cases, Azul's mood could be judged by his tail.

When he encountered something he was interested in, the joints of his tail would open and close, and the tip of his tail would sway.

But when he was in a bad mood, all the joints would open, and the tip would be motionless, ready to attack from any angle at any time.

Physical discomfort did not count as a mood.

In such a situation, Azul was left with only his instincts.

His tail would swing around instead of his body.

If it caught something, it would hold on tightly, regardless of whether the "thing" it caught was a fragile human.

The black tail was always more real than Azul's expression.

Now, the joints of Azul's tail were already stretching out.

One by one, like a precision instrument, they pushed Lu Anji's fingers upwards.

If you listened carefully with bated breath, you could even hear a faint "click."

Lu Anji didn't dare to speak, afraid that a single wrong word would provoke Azul.

Bennett was still gritting his teeth and asking: “What do you mean, Lu Anji?”

Lu Anji frantically pinched the web between his thumb and index finger, silently cursing this captain’s son’s ancestor in his heart.

From a distance, the military academy instructor's roar came.

“What are you doing?!”

Lu Anji had a bad feeling and immediately went to look at Azul’s expression.

He met the scarlet gaze head-on.

The red at the bottom of Azul’s eyes could almost burn his retina.

It was the temperature of the sun, even if it was about to become a white dwarf, and it had the lethality to burn everything.

The instructor had already approached and saw the specific scene, a scolding escaping his lips.

“I’m sorry.”

Lu Anji just wanted to get Azul away as quickly as possible.

He didn't dare to think about the consequences if the situation continued to develop.

“I had a small dispute with Bennett, and Azul was scared. He wasn't feeling well this morning. I want to take him back to the dormitory.”

Before the instructor could answer, Lu Anji directly grabbed Azul’s hand, dragged him, and limped towards the library entrance.

Azul did not resist.

“Lu Anji, you—”

“I said, he’s not feeling well. I will accept the punishment for the conflict with my classmate. Please let me take him back to the dormitory first.”

Lu Anji’s voice was terrifyingly low, which made the instructor a little surprised.

He subconsciously looked at Bennett, who still hadn't been able to stand up.

In the time it took for those two glances, Lu Anji had already taken Azul and left the library.

Back in the dormitory, Lu Anji locked the door.

Azul was still staring at him, his face expressionless but the corners of his mouth slightly turned up.

Usually, Lu Anji would have asked him why he was skipping class again, and would not have gotten any result.

If Azul didn't like it, he didn't like it.

His question was just a complaining summary of "why are you delaying me again."

Now Lu Anji was too lazy to say anything.

If a classmate died, he would be in trouble.

If Azul wanted to kill him, it wouldn't matter much to him.

If he died, he would leave a mess, and the only ones who would have to deal with the consequences would be the doctor in charge of the laboratory and Azul.

“I’ll go get you a glass of water.”

While getting the water, Lu Anji was still thinking about various problems.

Bennett's side was easy to explain.

The instructor wouldn't really cause him trouble…

Azul, he…

He couldn’t understand what kind of fit Azul was suddenly having.

Only when their consciousness was connected could he roughly know what Azul had been up to recently.

Since the start of the semester, apart from sleeping and Azul skipping class, they had basically been together all the time.

There was no need to connect their consciousness.

To take a step back, even if Lu Anji really knew Azul's every move, he might not be able to figure out his thoughts.

Now the top priority was still to deal with the classmates and the teacher.

After taking the water, Azul said thank you.

“You stay here. I’ll come back after class.”

Lu Anji turned around.

Before he had taken two steps, a cold touch came from his calf, and a great force pulled his injured leg straight back.

He fell hard on the floor. The thin string in his mind snapped.

He turned over and was about to get angry when Azul ruthlessly pulled him in front of him and stepped on his neck.

“Stay away from him.”

Azul’s back was to the window, his face in shadow, his thin eyelids half-open.

He looked down at Lu Anji, a half-full glass of water still in his hand.

Compared to the painless and itchy force under his foot, the tightened and constricted tail could better reflect his emotions.

“You were talking to me.”

Now that there was no one else, and Azul had made the first move, Lu Anji had no more scruples.

He grabbed his ankle and broke it open.

“Are you angry about this?”

Lu Anji sneered, “I’ve said a lot of things to you. Is this the only thing you heard?”

“You can trick me into getting an injection, you can give me milk with drugs in it, you can temporarily not go back to the sun with me—but why did you tell me to stay away from humans?”

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lu Anji frowned.

Azul squatted down, placed the glass cup steadily on the side, pushed aside Lu Anji’s white hair that was covering the black crystal on the back of his neck, and tore off the medical tape on it.

He placed his finger on the black crystal.

“That’s what humans love to say, it’s always like that. They came to the universe, close to the sun, but they can’t land on the sun. But they told my mother to stay away from them.”

Azul said, “Isn’t the sun far enough from Earth?”

Lu Anji couldn't answer.

It was only after a long while that he came to his senses.

He didn't need to think about the words of this moody little bug.

After a brief moment of calm, Lu Anji reached for the miniature ion shock gun under the sofa, pressed it against Azul’s forehead, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The muzzle fired a wave of ion energy, which could cause small but efficient shock damage to the target’s armor or biological surface.

Because it was extremely small and could be hidden in clothing, every student in the academy had one.

Azul turned his head slightly.

The energy wave hit the ceiling behind his head, creating a circular metal deformation mark with a diameter of one meter.

The weapon was basically useless against Azul.

Lu Anji didn't use it for self-defense, but simply to express his attitude.

“Let go.”

Lu Anji met Azul’s gaze, his tone returning to his usual impatience, “If you don’t let go, then come to class with me.”

Azul: “You told me to stay away from them.”

Lu Anji: “Didn't you not want to listen?”

“I haven’t finished yet.”

“I don’t have time to listen.”

“But I will always listen to you carefully.”

Lu Anji hated this kind of thing.

A bug read himself silly in the library.

Azul would relentlessly ask some questions that sounded stupid at first, but were definitely not to be thought about in detail, and force the other party to give an answer.

He seemed to be convinced that the other party must have an answer, but was just hiding it from him.

Lu Anji frowned.

If it was just a simple physical fight, it would be simple.

At worst, he would just die.

But all of Azul's questions made him extremely annoyed.

You’re asking me?

What your Zerg mother didn't tell you, do you think the doctor in the laboratory will tell me?

Do I look like I have time, like you, to do nothing every day, to soak in wherever I want, and if it really doesn't work, to go back to the sun?

The Zerg Queen will welcome her child, but Earth will only point a gun at Lu Anji who has returned without authorization and let him choose between a military tribunal and the laboratory.

Why are you asking me?

“I’ll ask you one last time, are you letting go?”

Lu Anji still pointed the gun at Azul’s forehead and said.

Azul hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly.

The tail loosened.

That leg had basically lost all feeling, not even pain.

He didn't know if it was completely necrotic.

If he wanted to go to the infirmary to check, he would have to make it look like an accident first.

Planning to just break his leg completely to cover up the bone joint marks on it, Lu Anji stood up, straightened his clothes, and randomly found something to lean on.

Azul: “Is your leg broken?”

“No, don’t mind me.”

“Oh.”

“Stay in the dormitory.”

Lu Anji finished and left the dormitory without looking back.

***

“Your way of getting along with Lu Anji…”

The system held back for a long time and chose a compromising description, “I don’t understand it, but I’m greatly shocked.”

Lu Anji appeared to be very protective of Azul on the outside, and his nerves were always tense, vigilant of Azul’s every move.

But when they were alone, he stopped acting and used the greatest possible threat to deal with Azul.

Azul, on the other hand, had basically no scruples except to ensure that he didn't kill the person.

It was strange, but he couldn't say what was strange.

On second thought, everything was strange.

“He ran too fast.”

Chu Zu sighed, “I was so close to making him break.”

System: “?”

Chu Zu: “I am a warm-hearted Zerg. I can’t stand to see such a twisted and dark family member. I’m trying to help him find himself, to turn over a new leaf and be a Zerg again. Is there a problem with that?”

System: “...”

The system said dryly: “I don’t know from what dimension to evaluate your ‘no problem’… but if you do that, he probably won’t be able to find himself.”

“If I say he can, he can.”

Chu Zu took off his shirt, letting his tail be completely free.

He sat on the sofa, his tail wrapped around the sun pillow and held it in his arms.

He still felt it was uncomfortable, so he simply lay down and curled up into a ball.

“Lu Anji was purely hateful when he was a child, not too conflicted. He would fight whoever provoked him. It’s just that he couldn’t beat me, otherwise he would have already pushed me into a pool of insecticide and exposed my corpse for three days and three nights.”

Chu Zu said, “Don’t you think he’s being too nice to his classmates now?”

The little yellow chicken slapped its forehead: “Yes, that’s what’s so strange.”

“When he’s with you, he always gives me a feeling of being at the end of his rope. But when he’s outside, he’s so restrained—doesn’t he hate everyone?”

Lu Anji shouldn't have any love for his classmates.

Even if it was because he didn't want Azul's exposure to implicate him… but he didn't even care about death.

He was like a fierce person who had been abandoned in the grasslands and had been dealing with a pride of lions for eight days and eight nights, his mind full of ‘if I can live, I’ll live. If I can’t, then so be it.’

He tried every means to trick the lion into coming back to the city with him.

He rolled up his sleeves and was about to go all out with this civilized society, but he was so scared that he couldn't move when he saw a cat.

The lion asked him what was wrong, are we still going to do it?

If not, come back to the grasslands with me.

He would just snap back, saying you can either kill me or leave me alone.

Although the analogy was a bit biased, the feeling was about the same.

“Three possibilities.”

Chu Zu said, “He’s holding back something big, just like how Lei Jingan held it back for several years and finally went to space and sent the coordinates to my mom.”

“Let's not talk about Lei Jingan's motives for doing that for now. From a human perspective, her actions were infinitely more destructive than holding up signs on Earth to protest.”

“Or he just has a serious self-destructive tendency. This person has long been tired of living. He can still be a little rational when dealing with others, but when it comes to me, he wishes he could die with me right away.”

System: “Indeed… what about the other one?”

“He’s holding back something big while being tortured by his own self-destruction.”

Chu Zu rolled over and hooked the blanket from the side of the sofa with his tail to cover himself.

The effects of the sedative had almost worn off, but the sofa was very comfortable.

“Our little Lu is very dangerous. The destructive power created by this kind of personality is definitely much greater than Lei Jingan’s, especially since he can still climb to the position of captain.”

The system saw that the host was quite concerned about Lu Anji.

In the ensemble where everyone was on their own, he was actually always paying attention to little Lu's mental health.

It asked with a hint of emotion.

“So you want him to be less conflicted?”

“I want him to not drag me into it.”

Chu Zu said, “According to the plot, I was simply aloof during my time at the academy, and I would only start to be a ‘green tea’ after I got on the ship. He’s now making me a passive ‘green tea’—I didn’t even change his character design, but he comes and changes mine?”

System: “...”

“After the retrospection, he gave me injections and poisoned me. I’ll rest for a while, and then I’ll think about how to make little Lu more obedient.”

“Let’s just be good roommates. If there’s a performance, we’ll talk about it after we get on the ship…”

Chu Zu was indeed lacking in energy.

During the retrospection, the system had tried its best to pull the timeline quickly, but his brain still couldn't take it.

Otherwise, when Lu Anji appeared in the library, Chu Zu would have immediately found a way to stop his performance.

“I’ll take a nap. Call me if there’s anything.”

The little yellow chicken was a little regretful.

It shouldn't have stuffed Lei Jingan's POV into the host.

It should have left the time for the host to rest more.

The host didn't mention it either.

Seeing its eyes shining, he didn't refuse and even took the initiative to read it.

After reading it, he immediately encountered a small plot that was not mentioned in the original work and spent a long time analyzing it with the plot.

It really deserved to die!

The system blamed itself for a long time, turning its grief and anger into work motivation, and began to keep a close eye on Lu Anji.

***

Lu Anji didn't go to class.

He went to the dean's office.

The dean of the command and staff department was a retired old officer from the front lines, with graying hair.

The marks of the battlefield on him were not just the badges on his military uniform, but also the huge scar that ran across his entire face.

Officers who could live to his age were basically in high positions.

If he hadn't taken the initiative to retire, he would probably have outlived a lot of people by now and be sitting in the position of fleet commander.

The dean’s concept had always been that old and dull thinking could not keep up with the evolution of the Zerg.

The war had been going on, and the Zerg tide they faced was constantly iterating with the iteration of human tactics.

Naturally, humanity also needed new blood to deal with the changes.

This had caused considerable dissatisfaction among many people, who believed that this was a manifestation of a lack of responsibility.

Humanity should not replace the dying old generation and then send the young people who represented the future to the battlefield without restraint.

It seemed to have become a kind of paradox.

Tacticians who were too young could not play a role on the battlefield.

Soldiers who were too mature would be figured out by the Zerg.

Those in between were often promising talents who could represent hope.

They had to send the promising talents to the battlefield, overdrawing the future in exchange for the future.

Lu Anji was at the top of the "promising talents."

The dean knew he was from the laboratory and had once gone to see how he cooperated with the doctor.

In humanity's own several world wars, regardless of the outcome, human experiments were always conducted in secret.

Once exposed, they should forever be nailed to the pillar of shame in human history.

But now, a group of people had shouted the slogan "for all humanity."

The conflict between people, countries, and nations had become a conflict between humans and the Zerg.

Suddenly, human experiments had suddenly become something ambiguous and sacrificial.

The most ridiculous thing was that a warrior could shout about his sacrifice on the battlefield and be called a hero.

But on what grounds did the people in the laboratory think that this kind of practice was "sacrificing one's life for righteousness."

The ones who were sacrificed were not them, but these children who had no choice.

They only participated in the murder, without any glory.

The dean had no right to interfere with the experiment.

He admired Lu Anji very much and also had complicated feelings for this young man.

“Dean.”

Lu Anji was full of guilt, his white hair hanging down and covering his black eyes.

“I will report the mistake in writing, accept the punishment, and the negative impact on the academy… I deeply apologize.”

“You sit down first.”

The dean said.

Lu Anji hadn't gone to the infirmary yet and sat down in the chair with a limp.

The dean said from behind the long table: “Do you know what will happen if you submit the written report?”

“I will be disciplined, with three months of compulsory labor, deprived of the honor of being an outstanding student for two academic years, and my enlistment priority will be lowered.”

“No.”

The dean sighed, “Bennett will be repatriated to Earth.”

Lu Anji lowered his head and just stared at his knees, not saying anything for a long time.

He looked even more uncomfortable.

The dean felt it was a pity.

If Lu Anji had a slightly more extreme personality—just like most of the children in the laboratory—then he would not have the opportunity to go to the battlefield.

The military would not allow an officer with a poor image to appear on television, and the laboratory would not let a defective product appear in front of the public.

In that case, perhaps he could still be… at peace.

But Lu Anji’s personality was too good.

He was in great pain when he cooperated with the experiment, but he would comfort the doctor’s emotions after the experiment was over.

This child seemed to have no negative emotions by nature.

He trusted everyone who was willing to entrust him with their trust.

It was the same at the academy.

A genius would be envied, but his peers respected him very much, and even admired him.

Just looking at him would dilute the fear of going to the battlefield.

The vitality in him could be transmitted to everyone, and he was not stingy in sharing.

“I checked the surveillance. Bennett took the initiative to cause trouble. Azul… I don’t know that child very well. He doesn’t look like he can defend himself properly.”

Lu Anji trembled a little.

The dean interpreted it as fear for his safety.

“I know you’ve been taking good care of him. When you applied, you said that you came to the academy to protect children like him on Earth—your actions to stop the conflict were a bit much, but in essence, you didn’t make a mistake.”

The dean said, “But you shouldn’t have just walked away from the instructor, and you were caught on camera.”

Lu Anji looked up in surprise: “You…”

The dean really cherished talent.

Who Bennett’s parents were didn’t matter to him at all.

What he had to teach was the future fleet commander, not an ordinary person who was gilded by his parents’ connections.

He taught Lu Anji: “The instructors at the Allied Military Academy are all from the front lines and rotate on vacation. Lu Anji, you should give enough respect to the officers under you in the future, so that they will support you.”

“Bennett will also be an officer.”

Lu Anji thought for a moment, “Azul too.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The dean waved his hand, clearly not optimistic about either of them, “If you want to resolve their conflict, it’s very simple.”

“Submit the written report, Bennett will be repatriated to Earth, you don’t interfere, and Azul will be transferred to a position outside the academy.”

The dean looked at him, “I would rather you keep Bennett. He can help you a lot.”

“If I give up Azul…”

Lu Anji paused and said in a hoarse voice, “He came back to the dormitory and asked me if he could go back to Earth. The punishment for Bennett is something he dreams of…”

“Azul is just that kind of person. He’s here because he can only be here. He doesn’t have much choice…”

“After all, Azul, he”

The dean suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on Lu Anji, and he swallowed all his words.

It was probably not just Azul who had no choice.

He was a war orphan who had survived in the universe.

Lu Anji was a secret experimental subject.

They had both come to the academy for their own reasons.

The dean instantly understood why Lu Anji would take such good care of him.

The dean said in a deep voice: “You already know the result. You can choose. I won’t ask. My only suggestion is…”

“Go to the infirmary right away. You should think more for yourself, Lu Anji.”

Lu Anji said yes, propped himself up on the chair, and bowed to the dean.

Just as he was about to leave the dean’s office, he heard the dean contact the dormitory and ask them to call Azul over.

Lu Anji stopped and turned around, just looking at the headmaster without speaking.

“This is not a question you can ask anymore.”

The dean shook his head, “Don’t get involved. I can promise you, I’m just going to ask him a few simple questions.”

“I know the answer.”

Lu Anji held on to the door frame and said, “I know everything about Azul. He tells me everything, including the ‘Lei Jingan’ you want to ask about.”

Hearing this name, the headmaster’s eyes instantly sharpened, as if he had returned to the battlefield.

The rugged scars on his wrinkles also exuded a vast and bloody aura.

He insisted: “Azul has never seen his parents. He only knows his name is Azul. He is very stupid. If you follow the clues, you will only find Azul Serrano. You should know what comes next. The academy has always had a ‘pro-Zerg faction’…”

“Lu Anji—!”

The dean reprimanded sternly, “Don’t mention this in the academy, and don’t mention it in the army in the future!”

Lu Anji: “If you want to question him, I will apply to be investigated together.”

“You…”

“He gets anxious when he encounters things he can’t handle… When Azul gets anxious… I can’t do anything. I believe you can’t either…”

The dean said coldly: “Let me give you another piece of advice, Lu Anji. Don’t take the initiative to get involved in the military’s investigation of others. The last person who did that was named Azul Serrano. He died the day after the military tribunal ended.”

Lu Anji seemed to be completely indifferent to the subtext of the dean’s words: “Will you still question Azul?”

“This matter ended with the dean deleting the surveillance and library records.”

Chu Zu woke up the next day.

He had been curled up on the sofa all night.

The blanket had been kicked off long ago.

On the coffee table were still the same books and small mechanical parts, and in the glass was half a cup of milk.

He touched it.

It was still warm.

The system synchronized the rapidly developing plot for the host.

“Lu Anji completely broke his own leg and went to the infirmary to act pitiful. The military doctor in the infirmary judged that the argument had aggravated his injury and blamed it all on Bennett.”

“He finished writing the written report last night. This morning, Bennett received the repatriation document. After contacting his parents, he was scolded. He was still going crazy in the classroom this morning, looking for you everywhere.”

“Bennett should have been forcibly taken away from the star ring by now… Lu Anji, he’s really… a textbook green tea.”

The system sighed, “Now the dean thinks he’s a tragic little hero with empathy, and the students at the academy think he’s a good brother Lu who saw what was right and did it…”

“The few instructors in the library don’t know his special status. Seeing that he dared to admit his mistake, and in the form of a written report, they praised him for being very responsible…”

Chu Zu held the milk, not in a hurry to drink it, but to warm his hands first:

“Just in terms of the technique of being a green tea, he is already ahead of our acting class… way ahead.”

The little yellow chicken cheered on the host:

“It’s okay. You will definitely defeat little Lu’s talent with your own hard work! Strive to be the number one green tea!”

Chu Zu said okay and asked if anything else had been added to this cup of milk.

System: “Yes, this time it’s an ultra-high dose of vitamin A, with a significant toxic effect.”

“Can it kill me?”

“It can’t kill you. If it were vitamin D, it could even give you some calcium.”

Chu Zu drank it all in one go again.

He put down the glass, got up, and his tail swayed behind him.

“Now I’m awake. Time to get to work.”

System: “I took a look. The key plot points you marked during your time at the academy are all later on, when you apply to get on a ship near graduation.”

It dragged the plot point into Chu Zu’s consciousness, “You go to Lu Anji and ask him to help you. There are a few key sentences that must be said.”

The little yellow chicken tilted its head: “Is there no urgent work to be done now?”

“There is.”

Chu Zu swiped his bracelet on the dormitory’s public panel to see what classes there were in the afternoon.

“Can you help me see where my cocoon is?”

System: “?”

Chu Zu explained: “I am a traditional mama’s boy Zerg. Now that I haven't been able to bring my family back to the sun, I have no face to contact my mom. I need to look at the cocoon and think of the Zerg to show my homesickness.”

The system added another question mark to show its confusion.

Chu Zu changed to a way it could understand.

“Look, I’ve clashed with his green tea character design. It’s just that one is active and the other is passive. The one who started being green first leads the one who started being green later. He’s the first one.”

“I have to find something new for myself, otherwise Azul will easily become an accessory character to Lu Anji in terms of perception—I can bet that the focus of the reader forum right now is definitely only on Lu Anji.”

“I don’t care what he’s become now. My job is to ensure that Azul’s own setting is complete enough to be a standalone POV character with enough weight.”

The system suddenly realized: “It seems so…”

It quickly glanced at the forum and exclaimed, “They—”

“We’ll look at the forum after we finish this.”

Chu Zu interrupted.

Little Yellow Chicken: “Okay.”

After only one night of rest, the difficulty of the work suddenly increased.

Anyone would be a little emotional.

The little yellow chicken didn't know if the host was emotional, but it felt a clear passion for work!

“And I haven’t finished questioning him in the first place. He said he didn’t have time to listen.”

Chu Zu said faintly, “That’s not right. I still have a lot of conjectures that haven't been verified. He has to listen. I want him to take the initiative to come and listen to me.”

“We’re all distinguished POV characters. Even if it’s turn-based, it should be my turn now.”

The system didn't understand the relationship between "Azul's character design" and "haven't finished questioning."

But the host said it all together, so it should be related.

It was just that it was insidiously interrupted by Lu Anji!

The system pulled out the conversation it had had with the host before he rested.

It remembered that at that time, the host had said: “I was so close to making him break.”

He also said: “I’m trying to help him find himself, to turn over a new leaf and be a Zerg.”

The little yellow chicken thought calmly for a long time, fully considering little Lu's physical and mental health, as well as the possible plot impact.

Then it resolutely handed over the red dot map of the cocoon to the host.

To defend the legitimate rights and interests of the host’s POV character, the little yellow chicken would not shirk its responsibility!

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