"Hit him! Kill him!"
"Hey, hey, Major General Wei, have you not eaten? You look so weak!"
"Madam is awesome!"
"Woooo! We won again!"
...
The scene was chaotic and noisy. Ruan Mingchu could barely make out a few words. He raised an eyebrow. He only knew that Mu Xiaoyu was talented and strong, but he didn't expect that she could defeat so many of his battle-hardened "veterans".
Ruan Mingchu pushed open the door and went inside.
Just a few hours ago, everyone was crowding around to greet him, but now, he walks in and nobody notices or pays him any attention.
Perhaps they noticed, but just didn't have time to deal with him.
The simulation training room is similar to the virtual pod of the comprehensive military academy, but it is more advanced and convenient. Simply by wearing a helmet, one can simulate a holographic real person, with all parameters identical to a real person, including combat power and various senses. However, there is only this one mode, and it does not offer functions such as reducing pain sensitivity.
And what's most commendable is that it simulates the feeling of death in a very realistic way, and it even slows down that phase, giving you time to remember the feeling.
Many Alphas who experience death for the first time need to undergo psychological counseling for a period of time to overcome the trauma. According to Ruan Mingchu, you get used to dying a few times, and you will cherish your life even more on the battlefield.
This isn't meant to make them accustomed to death and unafraid of it, but rather to instill in them respect and cherish life. Only those who have died truly understand the preciousness of life.
Watching the holographic Mu Yu move nimbly and strike swiftly, every movement was a textbook example. Although the victory was hard-won, his post-victory style was incredibly cool.
Ruan Mingchu was unconsciously captivated, and a sense of pride welled up in his heart. Look, that's the person he likes, that's the person who likes him.
However, a quiet conversation in the corner interrupted Ruan Mingchu. He heard Hu Yaozu and Sun Xiaotian expressing their regret for Mu Yu.
A big question mark popped up: What's the pity?
Ruan Mingchu listened carefully.
"Alas, what a pity! Such a young and powerful Alpha had his leg amputated high up. Otherwise, in another ten years, the Empire would surely have gained another general!"
"Keep your voice down, don't let them hear. To be honest, although His Highness is very good and outstanding, if he weren't disabled, his family might not be so happy to marry him."
"Everyone has their own aspirations. Your Highness and that person are truly in love. Didn't you see their hands were always clasped together?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ruan Mingchu had already stood in front of Hu Yaozu.
"Your Highness..." Hu Yaozu stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. Just thinking about what he had just said made him turn green with rage.
Ruan Mingchu didn't react in any other way, but simply asked him expressionlessly, "Why did you say that?"
Hu Yaozu's lips moved and he stammered. Sun Xiaotian pinched his thigh hard before he recovered.
"Isn't there any Alpha who doesn't yearn to achieve great things?"
Ruan Mingchu frowned, unable to understand the conflict between achieving success and marrying him.
Sun Xiaotian coughed twice and said in a low voice, "It was fine when you were the Crown Prince, but once you ascend the throne, Mr. Mu will be the Empress."
The empress was busy engaging in "ladies' diplomacy" with the wives and daughters of ministers and officials; how could she have time to make achievements?
Ruan Mingchu understood. He had never intended for Mu Yu to do any diplomacy. With his volatile temper towards outsiders and his dealings with those scoundrels on Dixing, he would probably send several people to the hospital every day.
Moreover, he had already come up with a perfect solution: let his child take the blame, and none of this would be a problem.
Ruan Mingchu patted Hu Yaozu and Sun Xiaotian on the shoulder and said gently, "This kind of thing won't happen. You're overthinking it."
The two were almost forced to kneel down by the slaps, and could only nod through their tears.
As for the misunderstanding that Mu Xiaoyu was disabled and had a high-level amputation, Ruan Mingchu did not explain. Anyway, they would see the lively Mu Xiaoyu soon, and they would know the truth then.
After having a friendly exchange with Hu Yaozu and Sun Xiaotian, Ruan Mingchu walked over to Mu Yu and waited for him.
Upon seeing Ruan Mingchu, Mu Yu hurriedly ended the game, refusing everyone's urging for another round, and looked up at Ruan Mingchu.
A thin layer of sweat seeped from his skin, and his face flushed slightly. Normally, simulated training only affects mental strength and rarely has a physical effect, but Mu Yu's body was reacting, showing how much effort he had put in.
Ruan Mingchu didn't ask him why he was playing here. She walked to the back of the wheelchair, put her hands on the armrests, and pushed him out. After taking a couple of steps, she asked as if she had just remembered, "Going to eat?"
Mu Yu hummed in agreement.
The smart wheelchair is equipped with the latest civilian-grade AI. It can automatically plan routes and avoid obstacles simply by stating the destination. Ruan Mingchu knew all this, but he preferred to do it manually, as it gave him a warm feeling.
On the way to the restaurant, the two were silent for a while before Mu Yu broke the silence.
He felt a little guilty, because he was so engrossed in having fun that he completely forgot he had promised to stay with Ruan Mingchu in the study.
"Are you done with your work?"
Ruan Mingchu chuckled briefly. "There's never a day when things will be finished. If I keep working, will you forget about me completely?"
"No," Mu Yu said softly, her head almost touching her knees.
Initially, he really only wanted to be in the same room with Ruan Mingchu, just wanting to be together. But Ruan Mingchu was engrossed in official duties, and Deputy Zhao recommended the simulation training room to him, so he thought he'd give it a try. Everyone was bored and just hanging out in the training room anyway, so they started a game and got so caught up in it they couldn't stop.
"You're still just a kid," Ruan Mingchu said, reaching out to rub the fish's head. "I'm not blaming you, but remember to tell me next time you go out to play."
Mu Yu licked his lips and said subconsciously, "I just wanted to go out for a little while."
Ruan Mingchu couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that our Yuyu doesn't understand herself well enough."
Although Mu Yu has been acting like a shy, wifely woman in his interactions with Ruan Mingchu lately, this is a limited edition. Normally, a Pisces like him has a fiery temper and enjoys indulging in combat training whenever he has a spare moment.
When Ruan Mingchu's words reached Mu Yu's ears, everything else was selectively filtered out, and only the two words "fish" entered his mind, making him dizzy and feverish.
What an embarrassing nickname, "Fish Fish"! Calling him Mu Xiaoyu is embarrassing enough already. Under the thin blanket that he couldn't see, the tip of his tail was already curled into a ball.
The restaurant's welcoming cheers rescued Mu Yu, who breathed a sigh of relief and turned to ask what to have for dinner. (The "turtle-like retreat" technique can also be used by fish!)
Mu Yu named the dishes, and Ruan Mingchu grunted in response. She moved the chair that was originally next to the table and fixed Mu Yu there. Ruan Mingchu said, "Wait, I'll go get the dishes."
Mu Yu hummed in agreement and just as he raised his wrist to look at the terminal, Ruan Mingchu's image appeared on the black screen.
He blinked: "What's wrong?"
Ruan Mingchu curled his lips into a cool smile: "Let's see if you'll turn around and run off somewhere else." Every time he said "wait," Xiaoyu would slip away.
Mu Yu blinked again before realizing what Ruan Mingchu was saying. He looked up and smiled, "You're so clingy." The "oh" was used perfectly, making Ruan Mingchu's heart melt.
He raised his hand and grabbed Ruan Mingchu's sleeve. "Let's go together." He shook it at the end and looked at Ruan Mingchu with his two bright, round eyes.
Ruan Mingchu swallowed, moistening his inexplicably dry throat.
"She's so good at acting cute," Ruan Mingchu thought to himself. He dared not say it aloud, or Xiaoyu would want to crawl into a hole in the ground.
The restaurant has a self-service window where food is served on small plates. You can take what you want to eat; it's free, but waste is discouraged.
Several chefs take turns cooking each day, each with their own style. Unfortunately, today's chef prefers a light flavor, which suits Ruan Mingchu's taste, but Mu Yu doesn't.
Simply put, there wasn't a single dish that Mu Yu wanted to eat.
Ruan Mingchu cleared his throat. "I asked Zhao Yongyang to improve the restaurant. It's really unreasonable to have a different style every day. A variety of styles is the right way."
Mu Yu squinted at Ruan Mingchu, feeling that the restaurant's business model was inextricably linked to Ruan Mingchu.
Ruan Mingchu turned her head away from Mu Yu: "I'll go to the kitchen and process it again."
He hurriedly picked up two plates of food and went into the kitchen, whereupon the chef's surprised voice came out: "What? You've finally changed your mind and don't like that bland, nauseating taste anymore!"
It sounded like Ruan Mingchu was quite familiar with the chefs, and they teased him one after another. Mu Yu listened carefully but couldn't hear Ruan Mingchu's voice.
They're afraid to speak.
Mu Yu chuckled. Fine, he wouldn't go in then, to save face for Ruan Xiaochu.
Not long after, Ruan Mingchu came out, having dressed up the dishes in her hands in a bright color, making them look much more tempting than before.
Mu Yu twitched his nose, took a deep breath, and his nasal cavity was filled with a rich fragrance.
He suddenly realized something: Ruan Mingchu preferred light flavors, and even her pheromones had a faint, icy scent. His own pheromones, on the other hand, were sweet and fragrant. Thinking about it, this was completely different from his taste.
Mu Yu's face turned serious. This was a very serious question. If you don't like the food, you can reheat it or eat something else, but if you don't like the pheromones, you can't change them, right?
Ruan Mingchu first placed the dishes on the table, then went back to nudge Mu Yu. Mu Yu stood there blankly, lost in thought.
Picking up a piece of sweet and sour shrimp and feeding it to Mu Yu's mouth, Mu Yu seemed not to see or feel it at all, as if his soul had left his body.
Ruan Mingchu put the shrimp in his mouth, chewed it, and exclaimed, "Tsk, so sweet!"
He then walked to the other side, waved his hand in front of Mu Yu, and even tapped his forehead. Mu Yu asked Ruan Mingchu as if he had just woken up, "What, what's wrong?"
Ruan Mingchu asked, "What are you thinking about so intently? You're even forgetting to eat."
Unexpectedly, Mu Yu said in a serious tone, "I'm thinking about a very serious question."
Ruan Mingchu: ?
60. He is intellectually disabled and does not understand.
Ruan Mingchu waited for Mu Yu to say what serious issue he was thinking about, but after a while, he still didn't hear him speak. Suddenly, Ruan Mingchu smelled a rich, sweet fragrance that warmed his heart.
Her astonished gaze met Mu Yu's eyes directly, clearly asking him what he was going to do.
Although there weren't many people in the restaurant, there were still a few scattered around. It was quite a public place, yet Mu Yu was releasing such a high concentration of pheromones here.
Is it another period of heightened sensitivity? Ruan Mingchu had to admit that he was actually a little bit hopeful, in a despicable way.
Mu Yu then asked him, "How does it taste?"
He won't ask directly if he likes someone; he'll ask in a roundabout way, as if that's how he can hide his true feelings.
For a moment, Ruan Mingchu's mind didn't quite register it, and he could only instinctively nod: "Great." To the point that he was completely captivated, wanting nothing more than to hug Mu Yu's neck and nibble at him.
Mu Yu's gaze carefully swept over every inch of Ruan Mingchu's face, confirming that his two words came from the heart and were not forced in the slightest, before he felt relieved.
He picked up a piece of sweet and sour shrimp and took a bite. "It tastes very good." After saying that, he focused on eating, as if the topic had been over, leaving Ruan Mingchu alone to savor and ponder it.
With Mu Yu gone from the simulation training room, the remaining players played a couple of rounds but got bored, so they came to the restaurant in twos and threes, arm in arm, and the restaurant suddenly became lively.
Ruan Mingchu looked up when he heard their voices, and when he looked back, his gaze swept over the people who were already sitting in the restaurant eating. He suddenly realized that the pheromones that Mu Yu had released had not had any effect on them. To be precise, they had not sensed Mu Yu's pheromones at all.
A powerful, top-tier Alpha can naturally control the release of pheromones in a targeted manner when in a normal, conscious state. In other words, Mu Yu just released pheromones specifically for himself to smell, and even asked him what he thought of the smell.
Ruan Mingchu lowered his eyes to think. In a flash, he grasped a fleeting inspiration, figured out the key, and covered his mouth to laugh.
We need to do something to make Mu Xiaoyu understand the truth.
As the warship carrying Ruan Mingchu flew towards the outer reaches of the Seventy-Seventh Star System, other places also began to stir. The star system's army was not very effective, and the garrison in each border region had a fixed number of troops, so Ruan Mingchu could not spare many soldiers. Moreover, he needed to reserve his forces to keep an eye on those star systems that were showing signs of trouble and to deter them with force.
The combined population from all regions is only around 100 million, barely a little over three times the fighting force of the Miracle Organization. Although their hastily assembled group lacks coordination, they are still exceptionally confident in their ability to defeat the Miracle.