Then do what needs to be done!

Ye Lan looked down at the small hand tightly gripping his.

It appeared fair, warm, and soft, but the strength it displayed now made him doubt whether the bones in his hand even existed anymore.

If Ye Lan remembered correctly, Su Lixiao, even before being rated as an S-class psychic, could bend steel bars with her bare hands.

This strength was something the current Ye Lan could not withstand.

“Relax, relax,” Ye Lan could only keep speaking soothing words to calm Su Lixiao, afraid she would be frightened again.

“Lan…”

Hearing Su Lixiao call him, Ye Lan turned to see the girl looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

Immediately, she buried her head in Ye Lan’s arms and began to cry.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Lan was momentarily at a loss.

He could only gently stroke Su Lixiao’s long hair and comfort her: “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

“Don’t leave me, okay?” Su Lixiao’s voice was small, as quiet as a buzzing mosquito.

But the meaning behind her words was as if Ye Lan had done something very wrong to her, and she was unwilling to let go.

Hearing this, Ye Lan’s body stiffened instantly.

Perhaps Su Lixiao had just had a nightmare, or it was a stress response to being on the shuttle, prompting her to say those words.

But the previous Ye Lan had been indifferent and aimless, betraying Su Lixiao’s trust and expectations, even speaking harshly to her due to his own lack of ability.

People often hurt those closest to them with the cruelest words, only realizing their true value once they are gone.

Ye Lan understood clearly that he could not repeat the same mistakes again.

This time, he had to seize the moment.

Thus he answered firmly: “I absolutely won’t!”

Ye Lan did not notice that the mysterious metal plate in his pocket emitted a golden streak of light as he spoke.

The golden light moved across the runes on the plate, illuminating all of them.

Yet, apparently still unsatisfied with some condition, the runes soon fell silent again, and the golden light vanished.

Su Lixiao sobbed softly in Ye Lan’s arms.

Ye Lan rarely saw Su Lixiao in such a soft and vulnerable state.

In his memory, Su Lixiao had always been strong, not just in strength but in character.

But now…

Ye Lan remembered dealing with something similar in his previous life.

After a brief recollection, he reached a conclusion: do nothing.

Because Su Lixiao’s vulnerability like this would only last a few minutes.

“Kids these days, even on a shuttle they have to be lovey-dovey. Don’t you imitate them!” The mother nearby gave her daughter an example based on Ye Lan and Su Lixiao’s noises.

“Mm-hmm!” The little girl didn’t understand her mother’s true meaning, but nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Ye Lan realized that staying here was becoming impolite due to the noise, so he needed to move elsewhere.

“Hello, do you need assistance here?” a mechanically stiff voice came from nearby.

It was a service robot.

It looked just like a human attendant, but its speech and movements made it easy to distinguish from humans.

Ye Lan said, “Hello, my friend is feeling unwell. Can you take us to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber?”

The hyperbaric chamber could alleviate symptoms caused by pressure changes, and while Su Lixiao’s condition wasn’t altitude sickness, the high-oxygen environment could still help soothe her.

“Understood, please follow me.” The robot noticed Su Lixiao leaning in Ye Lan’s arms and asked again, “Does your companion require assistance to move?”

“No, I’ll carry her myself.” Ye Lan said without hesitation, lifting Su Lixiao in a princess carry.

“Ah!” Su Lixiao exclaimed, slightly flustered, wrapping her arms around Ye Lan’s neck.

The girl in his arms smelled faintly of orchids.

Even for Ye Lan, normally steady, his mind wandered slightly.

Whenever he lowered his head, he saw Su Lixiao’s flushed face.

The shy girl was adorable, but her gaze seemed to say: “Once we leave the shuttle, you’re doomed.”

For Ye Lan, the only option now was clear: whatever hadn’t been done, he’d better do it now.

Su Lixiao seemed to sense Ye Lan’s little scheme and applied some pressure with her arms around his neck.

“Crack~” The sound resembled breaking bones.

“Sir, did you hear something strange?” the robot leading them asked.

“That’s your imagination,” Ye Lan said without shaking his head.

Not that he didn’t want to, but he felt his neck might have broken.

Robots’ hearing was indeed excellent.

Steel machines naturally had high physical resistance.

Some humans, dissatisfied with their own frail bodies or the limits of their psychic abilities, had installed cybernetic implants to gain strong physical resilience.

But could such people still be called human? Ye Lan didn’t dare say.

Guided by the robot, Ye Lan carried Su Lixiao to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber without obstruction.

The chamber was a small sealed cabin, containing only a bed and a chair.

Su Lixiao, in Ye Lan’s arms, was blushing to the tips of her ears.

She didn’t resist or fuss, seemingly ready to let Ye Lan handle things.

Ye Lan placed her on the bed and sat on the chair.

“……”

The chamber was silent, only the ceiling fan delivering oxygen.

In the quiet, comfortable, high-oxygen environment, Su Lixiao gradually calmed down.

She lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

She remembered everything that had happened, but ultimately, nothing occurred, leaving a small sense of disappointment.

“I thought…” Su Lixiao turned to Ye Lan, shyly yet speaking: “I thought you’d be bolder.”

This made Ye Lan raise an eyebrow and ask: “Bolder in what way?”

“To be blunt, your indifferent behavior is like Liu Xianghui.”

“So I’m quite the gentleman?”

“But carrying me here isn’t something a gentleman would do,” Su Lixiao said with a playful smile.

She got off the bed and approached Ye Lan.

Ye Lan sensed danger, but before he could react, two small fists landed on his chest.

“Cough, cough… ribs broken.” Ye Lan collapsed, indicating he needed a medical pack to stand.

“Don’t worry, they won’t break. I know my strength, though it will hurt a little,” Su Lixiao said, swinging her tiny fists, fully aware Ye Lan was pretending.

“Then I might as well die,” Ye Lan rolled his eyes, lying on the floor.

The sharp pain near his ears forced him to beg: “It’s going to break! Queen, have mercy!”

Su Lixiao tugged his ear harshly: “You’ve enjoyed all the benefits and still want to run? Not without my permission!”

At that moment, the shuttle shook.

Startled, Su Lixiao let go of his ear.

Ye Lan used the chance to create distance but realized the shuttle’s hyperspace engine was fully charged.

The shuttle’s broadcast sounded:

“Passengers, the shuttle is about to resume flight. Return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Those unable to reach their seats must hold onto nearby handles.”

Civilian shuttles experience rapid acceleration before entering warp.

People not properly buckled often end up bruised by inertia.

Ye Lan looked around and spotted a handle to his right, grabbing it immediately.

But he immediately felt his waist constricted like a python’s grip.

Luckily, the “python” wasn’t using much force; otherwise, he would have been crushed.

“I say, don’t you have a handle over there?” Ye Lan looked at Su Lixiao hanging on his waist.

A handle was right beside her, yet she used him as a safety bar.

‘I hold whoever I want. Since you’re unhappy, I’ll teach you a lesson,’ Ye Lan read in her eyes.

Hey! No!

Ye Lan could only watch as Su Lixiao opened her mouth, revealing four sharp teeth, and bit his waist.

“Ah! My waist!”

Amid Ye Lan’s screams, the shuttle streaked like a star and disappeared into the nebula.