“Today is May 2nd, Thursday. The weather in the Chensha region is cloudy turning to clear, with a temperature of 16°C, a west wind at level 3, and air quality: excellent…”

Chen Ci finished making breakfast in the kitchen. Just as he turned off the stove, Jiang Dai, seemingly drawn by the smell, slowly got up and turned off the radio.

“Morning,” Chen Ci said, placing Jiang Dai’s portion in front of him.

Since Chen Nian had never logged his daily routine, Chen Ci had no idea what the two of them usually ate. He could only make something based on the ingredients in the fridge and the nutrients Jiang Dai needed for his health.

Jiang Dai sat across from Chen Ci. Staring at the rich, well-arranged breakfast on the plate, he was momentarily speechless.

He picked up his chopsticks and tried a few bites—the boy’s cooking was way better than his own.

Across from him, the young man kept his head down as he ate, his long lashes casting a shadow over his amber eyes.

Jiang Dai had first seen those eyes eighteen years ago. When the incubation pod reached its pre-set time, simulating a birth process, a wet newborn had kicked its legs and cried out loudly, brow tightly furrowed.

The young marshal had excitedly taken the child from the researcher, then passed him to Jiang Dai before accepting another.

The twin boys with crescent-shaped birthmarks on their shoulders had opened their eyes just two hours after birth.

Clear, curious gazes that seemed to look straight into the world destined to be saved by them.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Dai asked, “Are you going out today?”

“Mm. I don’t think I’ll be out for long,” Chen Ci replied.

He still retained the habits developed in the White Tower—his dining posture was elegant, completely out of place in this tiny kitchen with a simple breakfast.

Jiang Dai nodded and said no more.

After eating, Chen Ci tidied up the dishes. He searched around the kitchen, found a pair of latex gloves, put them on, washed the dishes, and neatly arranged them in the cupboard by size.

Then he dried his gloves and clipped them in a prominent spot for next time.

Learning housework shouldn’t be too hard for him.

He started the washing machine to clean the clothes he’d tossed in the night before, then headed out again.

Following his terminal’s navigation, he arrived at the station and, half an hour later, reached the largest hospital in the 13th Information Processing Zone.

After carefully reading through the logs left by Chen Nian, Chen Ci immediately noticed something—Jiang Dai’s field of vision was circular and gradually shrinking.

Chen Ci knew that some acquired blindness wasn’t total blindness. Some patients could still see, but their visual field narrowed to the size of a pinhole.

Jiang Dai was clearly becoming one of them.

Chen Nian had said he planned to take Jiang Dai to the doctor, but at the time, he’d just bought some medicine and only had 2,000 Augis left in his account. After deducting living expenses, he didn’t have enough for medical care.

Now that they were switching places for three weeks, with Chen Nian gone, delaying things any further might only make matters worse.

Chen Ci decided to take Jiang Dai to get checked out. Besides, he now had enough money.

Yesterday, Chen Nian contacted him, saying that with Shavri Vitaljevich’s help, he’d gotten a new terminal that wasn’t monitored by the White Tower.

The two had chatted quite a bit. Chen Ci learned that the sudden deposit of 20,000 was transferred by Shavri Vitaljevich.

When Chen Nian heard Chen Ci wanted to take Jiang Dai to the hospital, he fully supported it and shared a lot of underground clinic tips.

Chen Ci had a full medical team monitoring his health at XII Base, with over a dozen researchers assigned to him.

So he’d never been to a regular hospital and didn’t know how ordinary people got treatment.

To make the visit efficient—and avoid looking like a total newbie and blowing his cover—he came ahead of time to scope things out and learn the process.

Hearing about it from Chen Nian was no substitute for seeing it himself.

Whether in the Underground City or the upper zones, hospitals were probably always the busiest places.

Arriving at the hospital Chen Nian had recommended, Chen Ci looked up at the towering white building. Countless people walked past him in groups, and no one paid any attention to the boy standing alone.

He adjusted the nose strip of his mask and stepped through the hospital doors.

In the lobby, he found a bench and sat down, quietly observing those who came to seek treatment.

The hospital was bustling and noisy. Near the reception desk were rental wheelchairs. Most patients were accompanied by family, though some were alone.

Chen Ci locked onto a family of three. The daughter and her parents registered using a terminal at the self-service machine, then took the printed slip and headed to the department floor.

He found the ophthalmology department on the hospital map—third floor, east wing.

He went up, watched the triage process, noted that after registering, patients submitted their forms at the nurse’s desk, scanned their terminal again, then waited to be called in. Sometimes, they had to undergo a series of further tests.

Chen Ci got the gist of it.

The process wasn’t complicated. The problem was, he didn’t know whether Jiang Dai could scan a terminal at the machines.

If Chen Ci’s guess was right, Jiang Dai had escaped with Chen Nian years ago, and the two had lived under assumed identities, moving through several regions before settling in the 13th Information Processing Zone when Chen Nian was sixteen.

If Jiang Dai was technically undocumented, then he wouldn’t be able to get treated at a formal hospital.

Chen Ci left the hospital quietly, drawing no attention.

If the official route wasn’t an option, he had to find another way.

Suddenly, he remembered a black-market clinic beneath a tattoo shop that Fu Tianhe had shown him.

Fu Tianhe had seemed pretty familiar with the owner and even picked up a crate of medication from the black market for him.

If that clinic was reliable, maybe he could take Jiang Dai there to have his eyes checked.

In Chen Ci’s mind, “black clinic” was synonymous with dirty and messy—not ideal—but better than letting the condition worsen indefinitely.

He had to ask Fu Tianhe first.

But Fu Tianhe hadn’t messaged him about hanging out, so he was probably working today. Even if Chen Ci went to the shack, he wouldn’t be there.

Chen Ci took the bus home, stopping by a supermarket near the station to pick up groceries. Compared to the chaos of the local markets, the supermarket was far more organized.

He now understood why Fu Tianhe had taken him straight to the market that day—prices there were usually lower than the supermarket’s.

With grocery bag in hand, Chen Ci walked into the residential area, instinctively walking along the edge of the road. That’s when he noticed—something was missing.

The puddle he had to detour around every day was gone.

Looking up, he saw that the rusted pipe joint above had been replaced with a new one. No more dripping water.

He didn’t think much of it, figuring someone nearby must’ve gotten it fixed.

Continuing on, he reached his building and felt like something was… off.

It was eleven in the morning. Standing beneath his own window, everything felt unusually quiet.

Looking up, the pipe that used to leak constantly right outside their window had also been fixed. No more water plinking endlessly onto the plastic awning, day and night.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard the dripping sound since last night.

When he first came to the Underground City, the dripping kept him from sleeping. Later, Fu Tianhe had given him a pair of earplugs, and Chen Ci wore them every night, no longer bothered by the noise.

Eventually, he stopped paying attention to what was happening outside and hadn’t noticed when the dripping had disappeared.

He took two steps back and visited the other buildings nearby. Not only had their own pipe been repaired—every other leaky pipe in the area had also been fixed.

New components gleamed with metallic silver, standing out starkly against the rusted surroundings.

Back at his unit, Chen Ci looked once more at the now-dry old pipe, then silently went upstairs.

He paid closer attention. The chewed-through electrical wires on the second floor had also been replaced, and the lights were bright again.

At first, he’d thought it was just some upstairs resident making repairs.

But now it looked like—because whoever did it didn’t know exactly which unit he lived in—they just repaired everything they could nearby?

At home, it was just Chen Ci and Jiang Dai, so lunch could be simpler. Chen Ci didn’t plan on cooking so early. He went back to his room, sat by the bed, and opened his chat with Fu Tianhe.

[Do you know the owner of that clinic we passed by in the black market? How’s their treatment quality?]

Figuring Fu Tianhe was working and wouldn’t reply right away, Chen Ci closed the chat for now and switched to talking with Chen Nian.

Up on the top level of Chensha, over two thousand meters above, Chen Nian had officially moved into the royal palace.

With Shavri Vitaljevich’s application approved, Chen Nian was no longer trapped in the White Tower. Technically, living in the palace was just a bigger cage.

But now he was closer to Shavri Vitaljevich—he could just step out a door and find the crown prince.

Chen Nian: [I asked Shavri Vitaljevich yesterday. He said as long as I don’t cause too big of a scene and make it public, I can do whatever I want ^_^]

Chen Nian’s joy practically overflowed from the screen. Chen Ci, of course, had no objections.

If that accident hadn’t happened all those years ago, Chen Nian would’ve grown up surrounded by top-tier noble Alphas—not those sleazy creeps at nightclubs with gross stares and grabby hands who only thought about getting him into bed.

Chen Ci wasn’t worried about Chen Nian’s behavior tarnishing his reputation. After all, he’d spent years locked in the White Tower. He didn’t even have acquaintances—what reputation was there to ruin?

At most, it’d just reinforce rumors that the crown prince and the Princess Consort were emotionally distant.

And Shavri Vitaljevich didn’t seem to mind much either.

Chen Ci didn’t know what exactly they had talked about, but the outcome was good.

He trusted Shavri Vitaljevich. With his help, Chen Nian should be able to handle himself well enough not to stir up real trouble.

At lunchtime, Fu Tianhe replied:

[It’s okay over there. I think they’re pretty decent. The doctor’s a bit fierce, but the skills are real. They can treat a lot of tough conditions.]

[Why’re you asking all of a sudden? You sick? If so, better try a proper hospital first.]

So the medical skills were decent…

That confirmed Chen Ci’s decision. Tomorrow, he’d take Jiang Dai to the black clinic. It had to be better than doing nothing.

Chen Ci: [Nothing serious. Just curious.]

Outside, it was dead quiet. Chen Ci absentmindedly rubbed the edge of the terminal with his fingers, kind of wanting to ask about the pipe repairs.

But in the end, he didn’t say anything.

He lowered his gaze and changed the subject: [Still up for studying tonight?]

Fu Tianhe: [Hell yeah. Anytime you want, I’m ready.]

Chen Ci replied with a simple [Okay], then closed the terminal. He couldn’t help but glance again at the new pipe joints outside before getting up to make lunch.