453: Qi Fang made a choice

These words exploded in Qi Fang's ears like a thunderclap. He suddenly looked up at the black sphere, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Becoming the ruler of a planet? This sounded even more outlandish than encountering aliens, but after considering the power it had displayed... it didn't seem like a joke.

Meanwhile, the black sphere was rapidly running its internal programs.

Its remaining energy was only enough to maintain basic communication and positioning; it couldn't even activate the medical beam to heal Li Yang. It had to quickly find a secluded place for Li Yang to stay.

The young man named Qi Fang, according to the data, was just a newly enrolled university student. His parents had died early, and he lived with his sister. His social circle was simple, and his residence was an unassuming old house in the suburbs—a perfect temporary hideout.

As for contacting the 'higher-ups' of this planet? In the core program of the intelligent system, the four characters 'Risk Assessment' were flashing red.

According to the information obtained from the network just now, the civilization level of this planet was only Level One; it hadn't even touched the threshold of interstellar travel.

Such a civilization's understanding of the universe was still in the 'sci-fi imagination' stage. Once the existence of the Xili Empire was exposed, it would most likely cause panic, and might even be considered a 'threat' and attacked with their primitive weapons.

"Choosing you is because your situation best meets the 'low risk' standard," the black sphere added, as if seeing through his thoughts.

"You don't need to do anything complicated, just provide a place where he can stay quietly. The rest will be handled by us. Of course, if you refuse..."

It didn't finish, but Qi Fang could feel the oppressive aura hidden within that faint blue glow.

He looked at the unconscious Li Yang on the ground, then thought of his sister working at the hospital, and gritted his teeth—he didn't dare to gamble on the consequences of refusing.

"I... I agree."

Qi Fang's voice was still trembling a little, but his tone was very firm.

"My home is in the suburbs, it's remote, and few people go there. It should meet your 'safe and stable' criteria."

The black sphere's glow softened slightly.

"Thank you for your help. The Empire will remember this favor."

The black sphere's electronic voice remained steady, yet it somehow carried a sense of solemnity.

As soon as it finished speaking, it floated in front of Li Yang, and its spherical body suddenly emitted a soft white light, wrapping around Li Yang's wound like a thin veil.

Qi Fang saw the wound that pierced his chest closing at a visible speed, and the bloodstains slowly solidified into a dark red scab.

But as the white light faded, the black sphere's glow also dimmed bit by bit, finally letting out a soft 'click' and completely losing its luster, falling to the ground like an ordinary black glass sphere, no longer moving.

Because Li Yang's injuries were too severe, the intelligent system had to use its last bit of energy to temporarily stop the bleeding, otherwise Li Yang wouldn't have survived until Qi Fang brought him back.

Qi Fang stood frozen, looking at the completely silent black sphere at his feet, then at Li Yang, who was still frowning in his coma. His mind was a tangled mess.

He squatted down and poked the black sphere; it was cold and hard, completely unresponsive—it looked as if it had run out of power.

"No, big brother... you just left him to me like this?"

He muttered to himself, his voice full of bewilderment.

The black sphere, which had just been able to control itself and reveal his entire family history, suddenly shut down, leaving behind an injured person whose identity was an 'alien division commander,' and a looming 'Imperial favor.' This plot was even more outlandish than the sci-fi drama he stayed up late to watch.

Qi Fang swallowed, his gaze falling on Li Yang.

Scenes of aliens from movies and TV shows suddenly flooded his mind, those sci-fi shots of half a planet being blown up, sending a chill down his neck.

This was a civilization capable of interstellar travel, and this person in front of him was a 'division commander.' If anything went wrong under his care... he didn't dare to think further, only feeling a cold shiver run down his spine. He quickly squatted down and carefully helped Li Yang up.

Li Yang was heavier than expected. Qi Fang exerted immense effort to get him onto his back, then picked up the black sphere from the ground and tucked it into his embrace.

The black sphere in his embrace still carried some residual warmth, like a heavy weight, making his heart tighten.

The way back was ten times harder than the way there. Qi Fang stumbled with every step, but the same thought kept circling in his mind.

He wouldn't be able to sleep tonight—what he was carrying on his back wasn't an injured person, but clearly a planet-level bomb that could detonate at any moment... It took immense effort for Qi Fang to move Li Yang into the passenger seat.

He gasped, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Li Yang's chest—the wound was even more gruesome than he had imagined.

What amazed Qi Fang most was that despite such a deep, bone-visible wound, there wasn't a trace of blood seeping out. Only a faint golden glow circulated on the surface of the wound, as if an invisible barrier was preventing blood loss.

"This technology... is indeed beyond us," he murmured, his fingertips instinctively wanting to touch that faint glow, but he feared disturbing the other party and reluctantly pulled them back.

When starting the car, Qi Fang specifically checked the rearview mirror, and only after confirming there were no anomalies did he slowly pull away.

The streetscape outside the car window slowly receded, but his heart was in turmoil.

"If I run into traffic police checking the car, I can't exactly say that the person in the passenger seat is an 'alien division commander' from an extraterrestrial civilization whose wound glows, can I?"

He sighed softly, tightening his grip on the steering wheel, and secretly prayed for a smooth journey—after all, explaining all these extraordinary things to ordinary people was simply too difficult... Inside the Imperial Homeland Security Force Headquarters, Army Commander Cang's expression was unusually grim.

He suddenly sprang from his office chair, the epaulets of his military uniform trembling slightly from the violent movement.

"What did you say?"

His voice was distorted by shock, and his palm slammed heavily on the desk, splashing water from the cup, creating a small wet stain on the table.

"Comrade Li Yang's unit encountered a spatial turbulence during its return journey?"

Army Commander Cang grabbed the encrypted communicator, his knuckles white from gripping it tightly.

"All starship positioning signals have disappeared? Not even an emergency beacon was sent back?"

The response from another officer came from the other end of the communicator.

"Yes, Army Commander, that spatial tunnel has completely disappeared. We haven't found any relevant clues."

Army Commander Cang hung up the communication and paced quickly in his office with his hands behind his back.

The military boots made dull thuds on the floor, and his shadow on the wall lengthened and shortened.

After this period of in-depth understanding, he was well aware of Comrade Li Yang's importance; the high-ranking officials in both the military and government circles thought highly of him.

Army Commander Cang thought for a moment and dialed the highest encrypted line.

"It's me..."

He said in a deep voice into the communicator.

"Something happened to Comrade Li Yang's unit. The situation... is not optimistic."

The news spread like a stone thrown into the deep sea, relaying layer by layer, eventually reaching the Supreme Political Council and the Imperial Military Department.