The Imperial Marshal’s Darling at the Tip of His Heart - Chapter 35

After the starship came to a steady halt Yun Shu was secretly transferred to a highly isolated medical zone deep within the starport by a team of medics using a hovering stretcher

This place was more advanced than the medical cell on the ship but it was also colder

His condition remained frail The slight bumps during the transfer left him pale gasping and coughing incessantly

Ling Yao did not appear immediately

The Imperial Marshal had too much to handle debriefing the High Command responding to potential inquiries from the Council pacifying and redeploying his fleet and dealing with the meaningful attention coming from the Imperial Capital

Lying on a new medical bed Yun Shu felt the omnipresent pressure of surveillance yet his mind remained exceptionally clear

The dire news from his fallen homeland burned against his nerves like a red hot iron

Time had become both the ultimate luxury and the cruelest enemy

He could no longer passively wait for Ling Yao’s charity or trials He had to take the initiative and seize every possible advantage

A few days later when Ling Yao finally reappeared in the medical room he carried a faint chilling aura of exhaustion from the storms of the outside world

Though he masked it well Yun Shu could sense the immense pressure from the Empire’s core in the subtle tension of the Marshal’s jawline and a tone that was even colder and harder than usual

Ling Yao performed a routine check of Yun Shu’s latest physiological data report his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly

Progress was slow The deterioration of the Crystal Erosion Syndrome had not stopped under the Empire’s top tier medical care it had only been forcibly delayed

It seems the Empire’s medical resources are not omnipotent after all

Ling Yao set down the data pad his tone unreadable somewhere between mockery and a statement of fact

Yun Shu propped himself up slightly a simple movement that once again made his breathing ragged

He didn’t respond to Ling Yao’s comment Instead he met the man’s gaze directly His voice was raspy and weak yet it carried an unprecedented clarity and resolve

Marshal Ling I need access to the Harmonic Resonance Simulator and the High Dimensional Energy Field Topological Analysis Array at the Pillars of Creation

He spoke slowly but every word was crystal clear falling like ice beads in the absolute silence of the medical room

Ling Yao who was about to turn away froze

He turned back slowly his gaze like a precision probe instantly locking onto Yun Shu

The Pillars of Creation He repeated the name His tone was flat but the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees That was the Empire’s highest level biological genetic and energy research base Its security clearance exceeded many military fortresses and it was the core site for the Primal Gene Sequence project A prisoner from Xilan was actually demanding access to its core equipment

Give me a reason

Ling Yao’s voice betrayed no emotion only absolute coldness

Yun Shu had already prepared his argument Enduring the discomfort in his lungs he tried to keep his logic sharp The energy patterns extracted from the Wuyin Star ruins etchings the Tartarus anomaly data and Starfall Era Fragment 07 all share a common subtle Basal Resonance

He paused briefly to observe Ling Yao’s reaction

Ling Yao simply stared at him expressionlessly signaling him to continue

This Basal Resonance is highly correlated with a specific frequency I discovered earlier that might inhibit the activity of Crystal Erosion Syndrome However my current data and environment are insufficient for precise simulation and verification The topological structure of the energy field is too complex conventional algorithms cannot reconstruct its dynamic changes within a billionth of a second

His gaze did not waver as he looked at Ling Yao The Harmonic Resonance Simulator is the only equipment capable of artificially replicating and precisely controlling that energy resonance And the High Dimensional Energy Field Topological Analysis Array can capture and analyze the instantaneous structure of the energy field at a micro level I need them to verify my hypothesis and find the potential Key

He deliberately linked the Key to the possible cure for Crystal Erosion the bait Ling Yao was most likely to be interested in

And after verification Ling Yao pressed his gaze as sharp as a blade Even if your hypothesis is correct how would that frequency or Key be applied in practice Does Xilan possess the technology to manufacture or utilize it

The question cut straight to the core

Yun Shu fell silent for a moment before answering honestly I don’t know But this is currently the only visible direction At the very least it would allow us to understand certain fundamental laws of Dull Core energy more clearly which may be valuable for the Empire in dealing with the Tartarus crisis

He did not exaggerate instead he admitted the uncertainty which added a layer of credibility

Ling Yao lapsed into silence

With his hands behind his back he paced slowly through the medical room His cold military boots made regular oppressive clicks against the polished floor

This was an extremely risky proposal

Bringing an incredibly dangerous and sensitive figure like Yun Shu into the heart of the Empire’s research base to use its top tier equipment

If any part of that plan spiraled out of control the results would be catastrophic

The old foxes in the Council were already looking for any excuse to move against him

But

The direction Yun Shu proposed resonated with the fragments of information Ling Yao had gathered regarding the essence of the Dull Core and the ancient Shackle system

The concept based on resonance and energy field topology was vastly different from the Empire’s current mainstream research which leaned toward brute force control and energy confrontation

Perhaps this seemingly faint hope was the path that actually touched the heart of the problem

Furthermore, given Yun Shu’s physical condition time was indeed running out

If he died all the secrets and possibilities would vanish with him

The fools at the Imperial Research Institute wouldn’t achieve a breakthrough anytime soon

To gamble or not to gamble

Ling Yao stopped walking His gaze fell on Yun Shu once more

The Xilan man was breathing shallowly waiting for his verdict His pale face was flushed with an unnatural feverish glow from the mental exertion but his eyes were strikingly bright They burned with a near obsessive thirst for answers and a total defiance of death

Ling Yao had never seen such a look even in the eyes of his most fearless soldiers

He recalled the man’s composure on Wuyin Star while coughing up blood and describing Xilan’s suffering

He remembered the flickering but unquenchable fire of consciousness when Yun Shu cracked the Omega data

A complex web of emotions flickered through Ling Yao’s heart again

Was it admiration

Was it apprehension

Or was it an impulse he didn’t want to examine too closely a wish that this flame wouldn’t be extinguished

Do you understand the nature of this request Ling Yao’s voice broke the silence as cold as ever It is equivalent to stepping foot into the Empire’s most classified vault Once you enter there is no turning back Whether you succeed or fail you will never leave the Empire’s control for the rest of your life

It was a final warning and a final confirmation

Meeting his gaze Yun Shu nodded slowly but firmly From the day I decided to infiltrate the Chenhuan I never expected to turn back

His voice was faint but it carried an ironclad decisiveness

Ling Yao stared at him for a moment as if making a final assessment of his resolve

At last he seemed to make a decision His eyes grew cold and sharp filled with the executive power of an Imperial Marshal

Fine he uttered

Yun Shu’s heart leaped

But not at the Pillars of Creation Ling Yao added There are too many eyes there and too many rules

He walked to the console operated it quickly and pulled up a highly encrypted architectural blueprint

I have a private lab at the base The clearance is high enough and it’s equipped with a simplified version of the Harmonic Resonance Simulator and an older Energy Field Analysis Matrix While not the latest models found at the Pillars they are sufficient for your preliminary verification

Ling Yao’s finger tapped a coordinate on the light screen located in a relatively peripheral area of the research base

That area is secured directly by my personal guard it is absolutely confidential This is the baseline and your only chance Ling Yao’s gaze weighed heavily on Yun Shu I will arrange an absolutely secret transfer But every operation inside must be under my surveillance and the Empire holds top priority for all data output

It was a condition and a constraint

He had given him an inch of space only to wrap him in even tighter chains

Yun Shu did not hesitate for a second

Gaining access to core equipment was already an unexpected victory

Agreed he rasped

Ling Yao gave him a long look as if searching for any trace of ulterior motives before saying coldly Get ready The transfer will take place tonight standard time

With that he didn’t linger He turned and strode out of the room as if the decision he had just made was of no consequence

Silence returned to the medical room

Yun Shu slowly lay back and closed his eyes He felt his heart racing from the recent tension and a faint flickering spark of hope

He had succeeded.

At least halfway.