The General's Love Glitch - Chapter 4

Unaware of Jun Jue’s plans, Ruan Wei slept soundly until dawn.

She woke up feeling hot and sat up, pushing aside whatever was covering her with her hand.

Looking down, she saw it was a deep brown cashmere blanket.

Huh?

Did she have a blanket last night? Ruan Wei wondered in confusion.

“Since you’re awake, get down.”

The moment Ruan Wei moved, Jun Jue keenly sensed the tickling sensation in her palm, realizing the person who had rested there last night was now awake.

Hearing her voice, Ruan Wei suddenly understood.

The pretty sister must have given her the blanket to keep her warm.

“Thank you, pretty sister!” Ruan Wei said cheerfully and sincerely.

How many times was this now? Jun Jue thought to herself. It seemed Ruan Wei had been saying “thank you” nonstop since they met.

“Get down.”

Jun Jue maneuvered the Silver Fox mech, lowering its hand until the back touched the ground, then lifted the other hand that had been covering it.

The sandstorm had stopped, but through the screen, Jun Jue still saw Ruan Wei instinctively raise a hand to shield herself.

Had she known Ruan Wei was half-human, half-vampire, she would have understood that Ruan Wei was blocking the first rays of morning sunlight.

The dawn light was cool, like a thin mist, yet carried a hint of warmth and softness. Ruan Wei adjusted within seconds, lowering her raised hand and neatly folding the blanket and quilt she had slept under.

Jun Jue watched all this indifferently from inside the mech’s cockpit.

In the faint morning light, Ruan Wei’s fair skin and exposed areas took on a gentle warmth, no longer as pale as in the darkness. The joy on her face added vitality and energy to her expression.

Jun Jue lightly tapped the display screen with her fingers, observing as Ruan Wei, having completed her morning routine, walked softly to the edge of the mech’s palm. She glanced down at the distance to the ground before confidently jumping off.

The motion of her jump stirred a slight breeze, lifting the tattered hem of her black dress. Jun Jue averted her gaze, missing the moment Ruan Wei pressed her hands against her skirt.

“I’m down, pretty sister.”

Ruan Wei stood beside the mech, calling up to her.

Jun Jue still didn’t look at Ruan Wei. Instead, she found a bottle of electrolyte-enhanced water in the cockpit, unscrewed the cap, and took a quick sip.

Only after feeling her throat slightly soothed did she retract the mech.

To Ruan Wei, the sleek Silver Fox mech instantly transformed back into the cool and pretty sister, eliciting an awed “Wow” from her.

Jun Jue looked at Ruan Wei, her expression unreadable.

“You don’t have a mech, and you’ve never seen one before?”

Ruan Wei shook her head. “I’ve seen them, but never one this impressive.”

As she spoke, Ruan Wei also realized her throat was dry and slightly sore, whether from dehydration or inhaling too much dust the night before, she wasn’t sure.

Timidly, she asked, “Pretty sister, do you have any water left?”

“If not, it’s fine,” she quickly added.

Jun Jue gripped the Silver Fox mech pendant around her neck, checking the remaining supplies. There was only one bottle of water left, the one she had just taken a sip from.

But she had already drunk from it.

“It’s okay, I’m not that thirsty anyway.”

Ruan Wei licked her dry lips, not wanting to trouble her pretty sister further.

Jun Jue said nothing, turning instead to survey their surroundings. A beam of sunlight happened to fall on the hollow of her neck. Unlike Ruan Wei’s pale complexion, Jun Jue’s skin, weathered from long campaigns, carried a healthy golden undertone. Under the sunlight, the contrast blurred.

Ruan Wei stared, mesmerized.

She felt a twinge of guilt thinking about how she had made the most of the situation before the pretty sister woke up, licking the blood off her body as food.

Jun Jue was unaware of Ruan Wei’s inner thoughts. She strode forward with her long legs, stepped over a large rock, and knelt down on one knee beside a cold, silver mech.

Ruan Wei didn’t dare get close because the color of the mech reminded her of the venomous snake that had once imprisoned her. After several failed escape attempts, she had been bitten hard a few times.

Jun Jue paid no attention to Ruan Wei for the moment. She tapped lightly on the core of the silver mech with her fingers, and the machine contracted in place, revealing a cold, stiff body with lividity marks. A silver mech necklace fell beside the soldier’s corpse.

Pressing her tongue against the inside of her cheek, Jun Jue suppressed her emotions. She stood up and saluted the fallen soldier with a crisp military gesture. Behind her, Ruan Wei saw her standing ramrod straight and instinctively straightened up as well, even tensing her toes.

After the salute, Jun Jue began inventorying the soldier’s supplies, two unopened bottles of water and four military ration bars.

She took one bottle of water and two ration bars, then turned and walked toward Ruan Wei.

Ruan Wei clutched the hem of her skirt, watching her eagerly, her eyes shining.

Jun Jue lowered her gaze and noticed the girl’s feet, covered in mottled scars, the wounds already scabbed over. Without a word, she looked up and handed the water and ration bars to Ruan Wei.

“Drink it if you don’t mind.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ruan Wei reached out and said with a smile, “I don’t mind at all. Thank you, pretty sister.”

Jun Jue glanced down at their barely touching fingers, frowned, and immediately let go.

If Ruan Wei hadn’t been a half-vampire and reacted quickly, the water bottle and ration bars would have surely fallen to the ground.

Quick reflexes. Jun Jue crossed her arms and gave Ruan Wei a once-over.

Ruan Wei seemed completely unfazed by her scrutiny, her expression utterly unguarded. She twisted open the water bottle and gulped down half of it in one go, her throat bobbing loudly with each “glug, glug, glug.”

After finishing the water, Ruan Wei noticed the two green vacuum-sealed ration bars in her palm and offered one back.

With a bright smile, she said, “Pretty sister, let’s eat together.”

Her voice, now moistened by the water, carried a hint of sweet clarity to Jun Jue’s ears.

Jun Jue glanced at Ruan Wei’s palm, and just then, the girl’s stomach let out a loud “gurgle.”

“I have more. You eat these two.”

With that, Jun Jue turned away.

Ruan Wei, mortified, hugged the water bottle and ration bars and spun in place twice. Realizing the pretty sister was walking away, she immediately dashed after her.

Hearing the commotion behind her, Jun Jue turned around in confusion.

Ruan Wei stared at her with wide, pleading eyes, gleaming like black gemstones, clearly saying: Don’t leave me.

They were the kind of bewitching fox eyes, with a faint teardrop mole beneath the right one. But on Ruan Wei’s face, Jun Jue only saw the girl’s helplessness and panic.

Unsure what to say in this situation, Jun Jue simply stood still, shifting her gaze to scan the surroundings for anything unusual, she still needed to find clues.

After observing for a few seconds and confirming the pretty sister wasn’t trying to abandon her, Ruan Wei tore open a ration bar and took her first bite.

So dry. So hard.

She lowered her head and ate quietly, her thoughts drifting back to yesterday’s secret feast.

At this moment, Jun Jue’s gaze swept over Ruan Wei, and she finally remembered something.

Originally, she had planned to interrogate Ruan Wei as soon as she woke up in the morning, but now she was waiting for Ruan Wei to finish eating.

Jun Jue: “…”

Ruan Wei felt the pretty sister’s eyes on her but didn’t dare to look up, afraid that lifting her head would reveal an expression that said, “This biscuit tastes awful.”

She didn’t want the pretty sister to misunderstand her as picky, ungrateful, or dissatisfied. As if to prove something, she quickly swallowed the compressed biscuit in her mouth and then opened a second packet.

Jun Jue: “…”

She seems to be enjoying it.

Jun Jue had a high tolerance for hunger and was slightly picky about food, so skipping a meal wouldn’t be a big deal. But seeing Ruan Wei eat so heartily made her feel like she was wasting time just sitting there waiting.

So, she took out two compressed biscuits and began eating as well.

After each bite, she had to drink water.

Ruan Wei finished eating and looked up, relieved to see the pretty sister still had food. She had been worried that the pretty sister had given all the food to her and was going hungry.

Jun Jue frowned as she ate. Military compressed biscuits were high in energy but hard to swallow. Unless absolutely necessary, she would never eat them. Simply put, they were meant for soldiers in emergencies.

One biscuit could keep hunger at bay for ten days. Whenever there was a combat mission, the military would distribute these biscuits, four per person. Jun Jue’s share had been stored in a small compartment in her mech cabin, untouched for so long that they had piled up into a small mountain.

Ruan Wei had just eaten two in one go, she must really like them.

Jun Jue still had one unopened packet in her hand. Seeing Ruan Wei staring at her now, she naturally assumed Ruan Wei wanted more.

Without hesitation, she handed it over.

Ruan Wei hesitated for a moment, trembling as she accepted it, and said again, “Thank you, pretty sister.”

A while later, Jun Jue finally finished one biscuit and drank the remaining water in one go.

Watching Ruan Wei eat with such relish, Jun Jue narrowed her eyes slightly.

Is it really that good?

After a pause, she said, “There’s plenty more. Just ask if you want it.”

Jun Jue considered the stockpile in her mech cabin, some of them were probably nearing expiration.

Though she didn’t like them herself, she didn’t want them to go to waste. That stash should be enough to last Ruan Wei the entire journey.

Ruan Wei buried her head in eating and nodded in response.

Finally finishing the last bite of the dreaded compressed biscuit, Ruan Wei felt her jaw ache.

She raised a hand to rub her cheeks.

Jun Jue was already thinking about how to interrogate Ruan Wei. Images of interrogation methods used on criminals in Federation prisons flashed through her mind, but then she looked at Ruan Wei’s small, battered frame and fell silent again.

Ruan Wei had an extremely delicate and pretty appearance: fragile, beautiful, and pitiable.

Among the criminals Jun Jue had encountered, this type of appearance was the most deceptive.

She had always been strict and impartial, but Ruan Wei hadn’t done anything wrong yet, no clear crimes, and she had even saved Jun Jue’s life.

In the silence, she heard Ruan Wei say, “Pretty sister, weren’t you looking for something last night? Now that it’s daylight, I can help you search.”

Jun Jue looked up, her cold gaze piercing Ruan Wei.

Ruan Wei shivered in fright, thinking she had said something wrong, and immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Her intention had been to help, but if the pretty sister wasn’t willing to talk about it, there must be a reason. Pressing the matter like this was truly presumptuous.

“Which planet are you from, and why are you on the run?”

Jun Jue asked coldly. Ruan Wei’s identity was unclear, and she had repeatedly inquired about matters she shouldn’t have. It was hard to say whether she knew something she shouldn’t.

Moreover, Jun Jue had agreed to let Ruan Wei follow her. Bringing Ruan Wei back to the Federation necessitated a thorough background check. As a Federation admiral, she couldn’t afford the slightest oversight on such matters.

Ruan Wei was stunned by her stern expression and icy tone, unable to speak for a long moment.

Was the pretty sister still suspecting her of being a bad person?

Ruan Wei really wanted to tell her the truth, but doing so risked exposing herself as a half-vampire. As early as New Calendar Year 100, vampires had become targets for extermination by all.

Unfortunately, Planet GR03 was too small, overlooked by the Federation and left unincorporated. Its greedy superiors couldn’t bear to let the vampires’ abilities vanish entirely.

Though medical pods now made treating most injuries and ailments convenient, they were far too expensive, and GR03 was far too poor. Killing the vampires and imprisoning the weaker half-vampires who still retained some healing abilities was the best solution.

None of this could be spoken aloud.

Ruan Wei pressed her lips together tightly. She was probably about to be abandoned by the pretty sister.