Duo Planet had unexpectedly become a supply stop only because it lay closest to the higher-level planets, but it had always remained desolate. Even the area around the spaceport was run-down.
Since it had never been officially designated as a supply planet, many facilities were incomplete. Forget a hospital—it did not even have a clinic. That was why the garrison troops had brought a doctor and a treatment pod with them when they came to rescue him.
Whether they actually managed to save him or not, they still had to make a proper show of the rescue. Speed was one concern, but medical equipment and a military doctor also had to be present. No one had expected they would genuinely be needed.
“The spouse has been infected with the Elso virus for more than a week. It has already destroyed traces of any other viruses, but I collected samples. We could send them to the Military Science Institute and have them try to test them.” The military doctor himself had not detected any drug capable of controlling a person.
General Kang Dun shook his head. “No need.” The corrosive power of the Elso virus was notoriously strong. Once someone had been infected, it would be strange if traces of another virus could still be extracted.
“The spouse has awakened an ability. I suspect the energy released during the awakening helped him remain conscious for a short period.” The military doctor was no incompetent. An ordinary doctor might not have detected it at all.
“Keep this confidential.” Kang Dun now viewed the Marshal's spouse in a new light. For someone with no innate talent to awaken successfully under these circumstances was enough to prove just how terrifyingly strong his willpower was.
For a person with no talent who had failed to awaken before the age of eighteen, the chance of awakening later was only one in hundreds of millions. Nearly all such awakenings occurred under extreme conditions. The probability was frighteningly low.
Those extreme conditions usually meant situations in which someone narrowly escaped death. Plenty of people awakened and still failed to survive whatever had pushed them into that state. Kang Dun did not want this information spreading. The military had already humiliated itself enough.
“Understood.” The military doctor also knew how badly this matter could affect the military, which was why he had not dared include it in the report.
“Once the escort unit arrives, accompany them and personally escort the spouse back to Capital Planet.” General Kang Dun did not want anyone else to discover that the spouse had awakened an ability. The fewer people who knew, the better.
After making the arrangements, Kang Dun ordered the Military Publicity Department to issue an official statement. He could not wait for the spouse to wake up. Treatment for the Elso virus required deep sleep and would take at least a week.
A week was far too long. If they waited until the spouse regained consciousness before clarifying matters, what reputation would the military have left? Besides, after everything the spouse had suffered, there was no guarantee he would be willing to speak favorably of the military.
【Everyone, please rest assured. The spouse has been successfully rescued and is receiving treatment. His life is not currently in danger.】
The Military Publicity Department did more than release an announcement. It also published footage of the rescue together with video of the treatment. The public needed to see what had happened with their own eyes before they would believe it.
In the footage, when the garrison soldiers kicked open the door and entered the inn room, the camera clearly showed both the people on the bed and the person lying in the corner. Later, when the spouse was placed inside the treatment pod, his vital-sign readings were also plainly visible.
【Oh my god, it really is the Marshal's spouse! Is the military really this efficient? According to the timestamp on the video, it took them less than an hour to rescue him. That's incredible.】
【Does the person above have a brain? The spouse provided his exact location. Forget the military—any random mercenary squad could've rescued him under those circumstances. The fact that he was saved doesn't prove the military is efficient.】
【Exactly. The spouse was rescued because he was lucky and the kidnappers didn't notice his plea for help. What does that have to do with whether the military is capable? Stop trying to polish the military's reputation for them.】
【The spouse really was lucky. Thank goodness it was nighttime when he woke up, and thank goodness the kidnappers were sleeping like pigs. Otherwise, who knows what those vicious kidnappers might have done? Heaven truly protected him.】
The footage showed that even after the soldiers had smashed through the door, the male and female kidnappers lying on the bed were still asleep. They did not wake until the soldiers roughly tied them up. If that was not sleeping like pigs, what was?
Of course, “kidnappers” was merely what the public called them. The military had not formally convicted them of anything. The pair denied kidnapping anyone, while the person accusing them of kidnapping was still unconscious, so the matter had not yet been settled.
There was no evidence of kidnapping yet, but there was conclusive evidence that the head of the Military Security Department had neglected his duties. Given the extraordinary circumstances, the case was handled with unusual speed. Soon after the military issued its announcement, the Military Justice Office released the results of its disciplinary action.
By the time Lin Luo regained consciousness, the direction of public opinion had already changed. The military had certainly not been completely cleared of blame, but the main target of public anger was different now. The Military Security Office bore the brunt of it.
“Spouse, how would you like the people who kidnapped you to be dealt with?” Old General Kang Dun came personally to the military hospital as soon as he heard that Lin Luo was awake. Whatever else happened, he had to make the proper show of concern.
Lin Luo was not surprised in the slightest. He had already guessed that this old general, who appeared only at the beginning of the original novel, would deploy the garrison troops to rescue him. That was precisely why he had allowed himself to lose consciousness.
The old general's inaction when the elopement rumor first appeared had already produced disastrous consequences. A man on the verge of retirement would never willingly end his career under a cloud of disgrace and ruin his reputation in his final years.
The passage to the higher-level planets might appear important, but it was not more important than the old general's reputation. Besides, he had only redeployed part of the garrison to rescue one person rather than emptying the entire defense force. This outcome had therefore been inevitable.
For the old general, the current situation was already the best possible result. Since Lin Luo himself had been rescued and remained alive, all the general needed to do now was display the proper attitude.
Lin Luo understood what the old general meant by asking. If the evidence had been conclusive, the general would never have needed to ask for his opinion. “How do you think they should be handled?”
“They can be transferred to the Military Justice Office. The footage of the garrison rescuing you is enough to convict them.” Kang Dun did not believe any more evidence could be found—unless the spouse himself had some in his possession.
“Then transfer them to the Military Justice Office.” Lin Luo had never expected them to extract anything useful from that shameless pair. Even if they interrogated them, they would learn nothing. Lin Luo had only one objective: he wanted them dead.
The Military Justice Office could not simply kill them, but someone else would make sure they died. Smart people already knew how to keep themselves alive. Only fools clung to impossible fantasies. Let those two pay the price for theirs.
“Your uncle has come by three times. The hospital informed him just now that you've regained consciousness, so he should be here shortly.” The old general considered that a well-intentioned warning. He could not say anything more than that.
Lin Luo did not appreciate the favor. If he did not understand the situation behind it, what use was such a meaningless warning? What was strange about an uncle coming to visit the nephew he had raised from childhood?
“You foolish child. How could you leave with someone like that?” The old general had barely left when Lin Luo's so-called uncle entered the hospital room. The moment he stepped through the door, he once again slapped the label of “elopement” onto Lin Luo.
“That's exactly what I wanted to ask you, Uncle. I wasn't conscious at the time, so why did Aunt personally deliver me into the kidnappers' hands?” Lin Luo was not the original owner and felt no affection whatsoever for his uncle's family. Naturally, he had no intention of indulging them.
“What nonsense are you talking about? When you left, your aunt and I were attending a banquet. I think you've gone mad if you're even willing to frame your own aunt.” Lin Changming scolded him with a dark expression. The little bastard had actually learned how to plant false accusations now.
“I thought Aunt was the one who arranged for me to be kidnapped. So Uncle already knows exactly when I was kidnapped?” Lin Luo was doing it deliberately. He wanted to disgust him.
Other people might not know whether it had truly been a kidnapping, but his cheap uncle's family knew perfectly well. They knew even more clearly that the original owner had never eloped with anyone, yet they had still poured dirty water all over his reputation.
Lin Changming's expression darkened. “Have you even looked at the enormous mess your lies caused? We couldn't bear to expose you because we're family, yet now you want to drag your aunt and me into it too. Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”
“Heh. I'm lying? Aren't you simply feeling guilty? If you have nothing to feel guilty about, then you can wait for the Military Justice Office to finish its investigation.” Lin Luo deliberately added more fuel to the fire.
“Look at you, all grown up. You actually dare threaten your uncle now.” Although he said that, Lin Changming was indeed worried that those two idiots might possess evidence harmful to his daughter. That was why he had already arranged a backup plan.
He did not even understand how matters had developed to this point. All they had needed to do was send Lin Luo away. Who could have expected those two idiots to make such a disaster of it? It was infuriatingly troublesome.
“If this counts as growing up, then you'll get to see an even more impressive version of me in the future.” Lin Luo had no desire to exchange false courtesies with the original owner's malicious uncle, so he chose to tear away the pretense altogether.
“Xiao Luo, if you make your uncle angry, you might never be able to contact your mother again. You'd better think carefully.” Lin Changming had always known exactly what to use to threaten this nephew.
Lin Luo found it ridiculous. “My tiger cub is already three years old. Do you really think I still need a creature called ‘Mom’?” The original owner had sacrificed far too much merely for one annual conversation with a mother who was almost impossible to reach.
“Fine. Keep pretending you don't care. I'll pass your words on to your mother.” Lin Changming knew that this cheap nephew had changed, but he did not believe Lin Luo truly had no desire to see his mother.
“I'm tired. Please leave.” Lin Luo did not want to hear any more nonsense. For the moment, he had neither the time nor energy to deal with the bloodsucker in front of him. He would settle other matters after he dealt with the Marshal's residence.
He currently had no usable people at all. The people who were supposedly assigned to the Marshal's spouse did not seem to have figured out who their actual employer was. After he was brought to the hospital, not a single one came to see him, much less stayed to care for him.
What Lin Luo did not yet know was that the Marshal's residence was currently in chaos. Over the past few days, the tiger cub had been leading the big tiger around wrecking the house while searching everywhere for Dad. Gentle lies could no longer fool him. He wanted Dad, and nothing else would do.
Beastmen were different from actual animals and did not grow as quickly as real tigers. A three-year-old beastman was still merely a tiger cub, without much destructive combat power, but he was exceptionally mischievous.
If it had only been the tiger cub, things would have been manageable. The cub was only a little larger than a house cat and easy enough to control. The big tiger beside him, however, was extremely difficult to deal with. It was fiercely protective and would not let anyone so much as touch the cub.
Even though the Marshal had lost his human consciousness, the personal guards did not dare treat him like an actual wild animal, much less use force against him. They could only watch helplessly as father and son demolished the residence together.
“Miss Lin, could you perhaps take the young master to see the spouse?” The butler knew things could not continue like this, so he could only brace himself and make the suggestion. The spouse would return sooner or later. What was the point of keeping the child away from him?
Lin Wei gave him a cold look. “Mind your own business.” She did not need anyone else teaching her how to handle things. He was only a little cub. She had plenty of ways to deal with him.
What she did not know was that Lin Luo was already gathering his own people and preparing to return and deal with this close cousin who had taken over a home that was not hers.