24 hours later, He Yuan was in fresh military scrubs and laying in the bunk of the small cabin that had been assigned to him in a quieter part of the Spaceship. He listened to the slow him of electronics and the distant sounds of AIs giving out commands and armed soldiers moving about the Spaceship.

Truthfully, these sounds did not register in his brain because he was currently preoccupied with his thoughts. His uneasy thoughts to be precise. When his system had left his mind space over 24 hours ago, he'd thought nothing of it but now... Now he was confused.

888 had never been gone for so long. Maybe the system might have been a little shaken up by the situation they'd been in but he never imagined it would be this much. After tossing and turning for a while more, he sat up on the bed and called out, "888?"historical

The system returned to his mindspace at that moment [Hm?]

He Yuan's brows furrowed. "You were gone for so long."

888 let out an exasperated sigh. Truthfully, he'd been furious when he realized that the reason his host had risked his life back in the cave was just to bait Jin Qi. He couldn't even begin to explain how that situation could have gone wrong in so many ways.

If Jin Qi had been just a second quicker then He Yuan would have been dragged behind with the entire Tech suit and become food for those things or worse, what if Jin Qi hadn't been stupid enough to try to grab him and had instead opted for directly blowing him to pieces with her laser gun?

He Yuan was still waiting for his system's reply when the silver haired man suddenly materialized with his arms folded across his chest. His lips subsconsciouly spread into a relieved smile.

888 took in his host's smile with a stern, scolding, frown. "The audacity you have to smile at me, when you'd done something so foolish with such confidence, is baffling."

'...' He Yuan blinked. After taking another glance at his system's expression, he leaned back a bit. Why did his system look so angry? "What did I do?"

"You're asking me? You used yourself as bait in a situation where you could've been easily placed in a disadvantaged position!"

He Yuan gulped and laughed dryly. He knew his plan had been quite risky but.... "It worked out in the end didn't i-" He choked on the rest of his words when 888 shot him an absolutely petrifying glare. The system was really furious.

888 practically growled as he stalked over to his seated host and lowered himself until their faces were mere inches apart. "It worked out in the end and that's it? Have you forgotten your abysmal luck?"

The fact that He Yuan thought this was okay because it worked out in the end was very concerning because it just meant that he would confidently try such a move next time since he'd been successful this time! That thought alone fueled 888's rage and he directly grabbed He Yuan's collar without thinking, "You've gotten a few wins and now you're complacent?

-What if something had gone wrong, hm? Just one random Jin Qi is not worth it! You've only been in this task realm for less than six months. You still had enough time to deal with her without playing daredevil!"

He Yuan gulped slowly. He understood what the system was saying perfectly and knew how important it was but... 888's voluminous hair was pulled back in a ponytail so his exquisitely sculpted face was clear to see. With how close the system was, he could accurately count each distinct fibre in those soulful cerulean blue irises and the way the system's adams apple bobbed softly as he tried to curb his anger was absolutely alluring.

The finishing touch was 888's soft hands fisted around his collar and the spotless, slender, neck just inches away. Clearly itching to be grabbed and... He Yuan's breath hitched. Warning bells were ringing at the back of his head and flags with the words '888 IS STRAIGHT' were flashing in his mind but.... "You're breathtaking...."

Both system and host froze at the same time.

He Yuan eyes widened and he folded his lips guitily whilst a suspicious shade of pink coated 888's cheeks before he could hold himself back.

Unfortunately for the system, He Yuan was quick to catch his blush and subsconsciouly let out a huge grin which only made 888 want to bury himself in shame. It was a mistake! He Yuan's words had merely caught him off guard, nothing more! He quickly let go of He Yuan's collar and straightened himself.

Seeing that his host's wolfish grin did not recede, 888 glared. The only thing stopping him from tearing He Yuan's mouth off of his face was the fact that the brat was currently in Yang Xue's body!

So to preserve what was left of his dignity.... He dematerialized.

----------------------------

In another few hours, the Spaceship finally landed on Crest. By now, everyone was already aware of what had gone down in Aer. The Second Marshal was already waiting in the Third army Military Hospital with Jin Yusheng when Jin Qi was brought in.

Seeing his granddaughter's comatose state, the Second Marshal blew a fuse. "I need a detailed report on how this happened!" He shouted to his subordinates.

"Yes Sir!" Two of them replied before heading over to the Third army HQ. In normal times, such a thing would be impossible but since the Marshal position was currently empty, the other Eleven Marshals had the right to access the Third army's database.

Almost three hours later, Jin Qi regained consciousness. Her brain groggily registered the soft beeping of a heart monitor and the low humming of various machines. She slowly lifted her head a bit and the first people she laid eyes on were her grandfather and elder brother. The movement made her dizzy and the medication ad not compl6worn off so she called out weakly, "Grandfather ~"

Theat soft call was enough to capture the Second Marshal's attention and he quickly rushed over to his granddaughter. "A'Qi..."

After twenty seconds, more of the medication wore off and Jin Qi finally registered the dull pain coming from the lower half of her body. She slowly sat up on the bed and looked to her legs. Seeing both of her thighs suspended without her legs, the memories came crashing down. Her eyes widened and she began shaking her head. "No, NO, NOO!"

The Second Marshal quickly held her down. "A'Qi calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Jin Qi screamed with red eyes. She had lost her legs and it was all Yang Xue's fault! She quickly grabbed the Second Marshal's arms. "Grandfather, it was Yang Xue! YANG XUE HAD PUSHED ME DOWN THE HOLE AND CAUSED THOSE CREATURES TO ATTACK ME!"

Surprise flashed through the Second Marshal's eyes and even Jin Yusheng frowned. He walked over to the bed as he spoke, "Jin Qi, you're still under the influence of the anesthetics. Don't say things arbitrarily."

Jin Qi glared at him with hatred. "Do I look like a child to you?! How could I not know who harmed me?!!"

Jin Yusheng massaged his forehead. "Even if you want to dish out accusations like that. You of all people should know that you need proof. Where is your proof that Yang Xue did it?"

Jin Qi sneered. "Where is Yang Xue's proof that he didn't do it?! He had set me up!"

The Second Marshal was about to speak up when a human doctor walked into the room with a strange expression. He held himself back. Jin Qi's suspicions would definitely be handled but the most important thing at the moment was to have her legs fixed. This was a crucial time period for the Twelve-army Coalition and his granddaughter could not afford to be indisposed for long. He addressed the doctor, "When can she begin the Prosthetic limb surgery?"

"This..." The doctor began with a complicated expression. "I'm afraid that would not be possible."

The three Jins frowned and Jin Qi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" Although she was pained that her limbs were gone, the reason she hadn't descended into madness was due to the fact that she could get prosthetic limbs. She absolutely hated it as she still considered people with prosthetic limbs disabled but there was no other option.

The doctor sighed. "We had run various tests repeatedly and the end result is... Lieutenant Colonel Jin would never be able to fully merge with prosthetic limbs as the connecting tendons in her knees and thighs had been completely destroyed by those creatures."

Jin Qi felt the world spin before her eyes. The doctor's words felt like it had come from a faraway place. It was impossible for her to merge with a prosthetic limb. That automatically meant she wouldn't be able to walk. She would have to spend the rest of her life.... In a wheelchair?

The Second Marshal and Jin Yusheng were not much better. The former felt his heart leap into overdrive and then come to an abrupt stop whilst the latter had a shocked expression on his face.

Jin Qi finally found her voice as she shakily asked, "Di- did you really check everything? There must have been something you missed... I can't become disabled for the rest OF MY LIFE!" She was basically screaming at the doctor at the end.

The doctor's expression remained the same. "I'm really sorry Ma'am." He turned to the Second Marshal. "Sir, it's also okay to take the Lieutenant Colonel to somewhere else, even a specialist but I can assure you, we made no mistakes." And then he nodded firmly before walking out.

With the doctor's retreat, Jin Qi turned to her grandfather with a heaving chest and desperate, anguished, tears spilling from her eyes. "Grandfather... I can't be disabled. I REALLY CAN'T! DO SOMETHING!"

The Second Marshal had a complicated expression as he stared at his Jin Qi. He could not believe it. Jin Qi was the only hope for the Jin family to retain their reputation as a military family. Anger blazed in his eyes. "Yang Xue had done this? Tell me exactly what happened!"

Jin Qi quickly gave her own version of things amidst heart rending sobs and when she was done, the Second Marshal tapped on his bracelet. "Invite the best doctors from all over the Federation to examine Jin Qi!"

"Yes Sir!" Came the simple reply from the other end.

As for Yang Xue.... The Second Marshal directly walked out with a vindictive expression on his face.

Jin Yusheng watched his grandfather leave before turning to his sobbing sister. "Yang Xue had truly tried to kill you?"

Jin Qi slowly turned to him with slightly swollen eyes. "Do you think I would do this to myself?!"

Jin Yusheng frowned. He might not get along with Jin Qi but in the end, she was still his younger sister. He would naturally take revenge on her behalf if she was truly wronged but.... "Why would Yang Xue want to kill you?"

Jin Qi's chest heaved as her tears increased. "Don't question me! Even now you choose to stand with an outsider. I'M YOUR SISTER!"

Jin Yusheng closed his eyes to stop himself from snapping. The situation did not make sense. Why would Yang Xue want to kill Jin Iq? Ding Weimin was clearly not the bone of contention here and the both of them worked in different areas so there was definitely no conflict of interest. He eyed Jin Qi sternly. "The two of you have nothing in common so why woud the mandron try to harm you?"

Jin Qi snapped. "Because he wants revenge for when I pushed him behind at the Second Xor Queen's cave!"

CRASH!

CLATTER!

She directly pulled whatever she could grab beside her and launched them at Jin Yusheng as she continued with her face full of snot and tears, "I had set him up to be killed by the Xor queen but he'd lost a limb instead. ARE YOU SATISFIED?! IS THAT ENOUGH MOTIVE FOR YOU?!!!"

Jin Yusheng's expression slowly morphed into horror.