Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun told a big lie to temporarily calm down Gu Shenyuan, giving himself a chance to investigate the energy disperser.

That morning, Ye Qingyun got out of bed with Gu Shenyuan, watching his every move as if he were a fragile creature that needed special protection and could be hurt at any moment. With that gaze on him, Ye Qingyun brushed his teeth, washed his face, and tried to handle his morning routine. But with Gu Shenyuan’s intense, expressionless stare, he found himself unable to go.

Ye Qingyun: “…Can you not do this? I’m not disabled. I don’t need you to hold it for me. Just leave for a moment, okay?”

Gu Shenyuan looked at Ye Qingyun’s stomach, repeatedly cautioning him not to fall and to call for him immediately if he did, then reluctantly left, glancing back multiple times.

This kind of care seeped into all aspects of his life, and feeling so closely watched, Ye Qingyun carefully kept up his act, occasionally discussing their future with Gu Shenyuan.

“If we had a child someday, what would you like to do with them?” Ye Qingyun asked, trying to deepen Gu Shenyuan’s attachment to life. “We could take him along on trips. What do you think?”

“People need to be independent, and boys especially shouldn’t be spoiled,” Gu Shenyuan replied, face blank. “Once he’s grown, he should leave home and make his way.”

Ye Qingyun: ‘….’

Boys shouldn’t be spoiled?

Ye Qingyun: “I want some juice.”

Gu Shenyuan got up and soon returned with a glass of juice for him.

Ye Qingyun: “Can you feed me?”

A hint of a smile appeared in Gu Shenyuan’s eyes as he brought the cup to Ye Qingyun’s lips and encouraged him to drink.

Ye Qingyun: “Is this what you meant by boys shouldn’t be spoiled? You like spoiling me! Look how happy you are!”

Gu Shenyuan returned to his neutral expression. “You’re different from him. It’s not the same standard.”

Ye Qingyun: ‘….’

What a double standard.

Ye Qingyun couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that Gu Shenyuan wasn’t too fond of children. When the time came for him to tell Gu Shenyuan there wasn’t a child, hopefully, he wouldn’t be too upset.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingyun began his investigation into the energy disperser.

Previously, Gu Shenyuan had warned him against investigating, saying it was too dangerous and might reveal his whereabouts to enemies. But now, with Ye Qingyun insisting Gu Shenyuan stay out of trouble, Gu Shenyuan reluctantly agreed to help him, monitoring enemy movements together.

Since Gu Shenyuan wouldn’t let him use the internet too much, citing health concerns, Ye Qingyun assigned some tasks to him and guided him from the side.

They managed to hack into the royal network, where they saw an image of the machine. It looked small and delicate, resembling an ancient incense burner—round and compact, with nothing to hint at its deadly power.

Naturally, such a classified device wouldn’t have its weaknesses clearly outlined. Ye Qingyun and Gu Shenyuan searched every related file without finding anything about its vulnerabilities, only stumbling upon an exaggerated description:

‘This is a perfect machine, incredibly powerful, indestructible by human hands.’

Ye Qingyun frowned at this line, while Gu Shenyuan patted his hair, gently reassuring him, “Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

“Don’t say things like that. Who’s asking you to keep me safe?” Ye Qingyun cut him off and continued his search for the machine’s weakness.

Nothing is perfect. He was sure he could find a vulnerability.

After days of searching, Ye Qingyun still hadn’t found anything specific. However, he did discover the name of the machine’s creator in one of the files.

Without hesitation, Ye Qingyun traced that name to the creator’s interstellar profile.

The profile was filled with various posts, showing that the creator was someone who loved sharing and frequently posted about his gadgets, boasting about his skills.

Ye Qingyun searched through his posts, but found no mention of his involvement with the energy disperser, as expected. The creator must have signed a confidentiality agreement, so he wouldn’t post any details publicly. But with his love for talking, could he resist mentioning it?

After thinking it over, Ye Qingyun attempted to hack into the profile and extract hidden information.

His persistence paid off, and after typing in the final line of code, Ye Qingyun finally found the relevant information he’d been searching for within the hidden content.

The creator expressed immense satisfaction with his involvement in the creation of the energy disperser, boasting extensively. In one section, he described it as follows:

‘The emperor demanded that this machine be flawless and indestructible, even threatening my life if I couldn’t achieve that. Ridiculous—what in this world is truly perfect? Though the machine isn’t flawless, it’s close.

This machine can withstand advanced abilities, but it can’t resist a mental force attack. We spent a great deal of time addressing that problem. Now, only if an SS-class mental ability user were willing to sacrifice their life and release their full mental power against the machine could it possibly be destroyed. Anything else—abilities or physical attacks—can be fully blocked.

But SS-class mental ability users only exist in legends. In reality, you won’t find a single one, so this machine may never have a chance to be destroyed.’

… An SS-class mental ability user, sacrificing themselves to destroy it?

Ye Qingyun was stunned and instinctively turned to look at Gu Shenyuan, who was sitting beside him and had also read that line.

Gu Shenyuan frowned slightly and looked back.

“Do you… have any ideas?” Ye Qingyun asked. “Do you want to try finding an SS-class mental ability user?”

Gu Shenyuan stayed silent.

He understood that SS-class mental ability users were nearly impossible to find. Unlike abilities, which have a stable progression path, mental force is almost entirely determined at birth and rarely improves.

The royal family, all of whom had low mental force, feared that mental abilities had unique destructive power. Ever since they took the throne, they suppressed mental force research and promoted the idea that mental force was useless.

Furthermore, high-level mental ability users were exceptionally rare, let alone SS-class ones. In all of interstellar history, only one such individual ever appeared, leaving only a brief trace in the records. It’s said they had remarkable emotional intelligence, manipulating all the top leaders of their time.

The odds of finding such a person were minuscule, and even if one appeared, the chances they’d be willing to sacrifice themselves to destroy the machine were even slimmer. Gu Shenyuan did not want someone that cunning to meet Ye Qingyun.

Gu Shenyuan said in a low voice, “Qingyun, SS-class mental ability users… are too rare. It would be incredibly difficult to find one. I’ll find another way to solve this; don’t worry too much, and focus on staying healthy.”

Ye Qingyun also knew the legend of that SS-class mental user, so he cautiously probed again, “I haven’t tested my mental ability yet. What if I’m—”

“That’s enough.” Gu Shenyuan cut him off firmly. “Don’t overthink. There’s no way you are.”

Ye Qingyun was stunned—was that a roundabout way of saying he lacked emotional intelligence? Who says you have to be emotionally intelligent? He had high enough intelligence! He actually “was” an SS-class mental ability user!

…Wait, no. Gu Shenyuan was trying to prevent him from sacrificing himself, cutting off any chance he might have to take such a risk.

If Gu Shenyuan knew the truth, that he was an SS-class user, he’d likely keep him as far away from that machine as possible—or worse, even find a way to reduce his mental force, perhaps by giving him some suppressant drug to lower it to an S-class level.

He couldn’t let Gu Shenyuan know.

Ye Qingyun decided to go along with Gu Shenyuan’s line of thinking. “You’re right. I’ll keep researching to see if there’s another way.”

Gu Shenyuan nodded, pulling Ye Qingyun into his arms and turning off the terminal.

He gently brushed his hand over Ye Qingyun’s eyes, saying, “Rest for a bit; you’re too tired.”

Ye Qingyun closed his eyes, deep in thought.

His death wouldn’t be a true death. He could be reborn. Exchanging one life to ensure Gu Shenyuan’s safety was certainly worth it.

The system wouldn’t allow him to tell Gu Shenyuan that he could be reborn, as it defied the world’s logic and might expose the system. Instead, he would hint at it, helping Gu Shenyuan realize that his death wouldn’t be permanent and that he could come back. Then, he’d find an opportunity to destroy that energy disperser machine once and for all.

If no other method could be found, this would be his final solution.

—

Ye Qingyun settled down for now, and Gu Shenyuan was satisfied.

Since Ye Qingyun’s health was now especially delicate, Gu Shenyuan became more cautious in taking care of him, worrying that any mistake might harm him.

Having no experience caring for a pregnant person, Gu Shenyuan went online to ask if there were any specific things to be careful about when taking care of a pregnant man.

Soon, an enthusiastic user replied.

”Wow, your man is pregnant? You’re lucky; it’s rare for a man to be able to get pregnant. The essentials are pretty similar to normal pregnancy care, but there are two extra things to pay special attention to.

Since he’ll produce milk after giving birth, you should massage him regularly to prevent issues. Also, since men have smaller pelvic bones, you need to massage to help prevent any complications during delivery and keep them relaxed.”

Gu Shenyuan stared at the message, momentarily lost in thought.

If he understood correctly, the areas requiring massage were…

—

That night, as usual, Ye Qingyun turned off the light and got into bed.

After lying there for a while, he realized Gu Shenyuan still hadn’t come to bed, so he opened his eyes to look for him.

In the dim light, he saw Gu Shenyuan sitting quietly a short distance away, as still as a statue.

“Gu Shenyuan?” Ye Qingyun asked curiously. “Aren’t you coming to bed?”

Gu Shenyuan didn’t respond; he just tapped a few times on his terminal.

The next second, Ye Qingyun saw something pop up on his terminal.

Gu Shenyuan had sent it to him. Perplexed, Ye Qingyun opened it—and saw the question he’d posted online.

‘…Producing milk… massage… pelvis… relaxation…’

Ye Qingyun quickly scanned the message, his face turning bright red.

Why did Gu Shenyuan send this to him? Could it mean…

In the dark, Gu Shenyuan said softly, “How about I give you a massage, hmm?”