Zerg: I ​​was picked up by the cold and beautiful Major General at the start of the game.

"……All right."

Lin Luo took a deep breath and compromised, but then stated his conditions.

"I won't interfere with your decision, but at least let me give it a try first."

Without waiting for Ailand's response, he quickly unbuttoned the cuffs of his military jacket and pushed up his shirt sleeves to reveal a section of his wrist.

Lin Luo gripped Ailand's hand and wrist tightly with both hands, closed his eyes, and tried his best to eliminate all external distractions and concentrate all his thoughts.

He tried hard to recall that mysterious feeling from last time, attempting to slowly extend his spiritual power.

At first, it was a chaotic darkness, and Lin Luo couldn't help but feel anxious. His spiritual power was like a stream that couldn't find its way, bumping into walls everywhere.

He forced himself to calm down, to stop trying to "search" and to simply convey the desire to "comfort" and "connect".

After an unknown amount of time, just when he was about to give up, the familiar scene finally appeared again—

Before his eyes once again appeared that vast yet turbulent "sea of ​​stars," the spiritual sea of ​​Ailand!

But compared to the fleeting glimpse we had last time, the scene now was far more horrifying.

Those shimmering filaments of light, which were originally just slightly agitated and entangled by dark matter, now seemed to be wildly stirred by an invisible force—

They twitched and twisted violently, and in some places even showed fine, arc-like cracks!

The entire mental sea was boiling and roaring, revealing an extreme pain on the verge of collapse.

Lin Luo's heart clenched. He dared not hesitate and immediately followed his instincts, guiding his warm and peaceful spiritual power to carefully brush over the outermost and most turbulent spiritual threads.

Wherever his power passed, it was like sunlight melting frost, bringing a strange soothing effect; the wildly twisting light threads seemed to be injected with some kind of tranquilizer.

The frequency of the convulsions slowed significantly, the violent convulsions gradually subsided, and the body began to slowly and laboriously relax...

Eland was enduring the excruciating pain and dizziness in his head, preparing to force himself to concentrate and direct the cleanup efforts.

Suddenly, a familiar, tender, and gentle force surged from the skin where their skin touched, gently seeping into his almost exploding mental sea.

The excruciating, sharp pain subsided rapidly, like the receding tide, and the most unbearable surface turmoil was quickly calmed down.

His gaze involuntarily fell on Lin Luo's face.

Looking at his slightly furrowed brows, trembling eyelashes, and tightly pursed lips, I could see his intense concentration.

In this still chaotic and dangerous scene, fresh from the ravages of war, Ailand gazed at the male insect striving to soothe her spiritual sea, feeling a continuous and unique comfort—

For a moment, he forgot everything around him and stood there in a daze.

---

Lin Luo finally managed to calm down the violent fluctuations on the outermost layer of his mental sea.

He let out a long sigh of relief, and as he opened his eyes, somewhat exhausted, he happened to meet Eland's icy blue eyes.

Those eyes, which were always calm like the ocean, now clearly reflected his figure.

The two were so close that their breaths could almost be heard, and time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Lin Luo could clearly see the other person's long, silver eyelashes trembling slightly, and his own pale face reflected in those pupils.

Just then, one of Ayland's men trotted over and shouted urgently:

"Major General! The situation is initially under control. Please provide your instructions!"

This abruptly broke the subtle and stagnant atmosphere between the two.

As if startled awake, Eland quickly withdrew his hand.

He took a half step back, composed himself, regaining some of his usual sternness, and spoke with sincere gratitude:

"Thank you, sir. I feel much better."

He then turned to his subordinate:

"Immediately escort Lord Lin Luo to the safe house, ensuring his absolute safety. Double the number of guards!"

"Yes, Major General!" The subordinate stood at attention and accepted the order.

Only then did Ailand look at Lin Luo again:

"Sir, please go with him to a safe place to rest. I must stay and handle the follow-up matters."

Lin Luo knew this was his duty, and although he was still a little worried, he nodded.

"Okay, be careful yourself." After saying that, he left with the female soldier.

After watching Lin Luo leave, Ailand immediately threw himself into the intense cleanup work:

Taking stock of casualties, reinforcing defenses, and cooperating with the arriving capital planet defense forces to conduct a thorough search...

Just then, his personal computer received an encrypted intelligence summary. He quickly skimmed through it, his brows furrowing deeply.

Intelligence indicates that the attack was launched by the "Blood Blade" space pirate group, but their true objective was not the male insect, but rather a feint.

While most of the security forces were drawn to the area around the banquet hall, another elite team simultaneously raided the prison holding serious criminals and successfully rescued the recently captured space pirate leader, Kahn.

The prison's defense system was breached so easily because there was a traitor within its ranks!

A mid-level oversight officer was turned and, in collusion with others, sabotaged a key defensive node.

However, the traitor himself was already on the verge of mental collapse.

He had previously tried to exchange his military merits for a date with a male insect, but failed. This time, he self-destructed after the operation was successful, leaving no clues for anyone to follow.

After reading the report, Ailand had mixed feelings.

It contains both the anger of a traitor breaking his oath and betraying his colleagues, and a sense of sorrow for those who share the same fate.

-

After the scene was cleaned up, the male insects were all safely sent home, and Ailand and Linluo also returned home.

After taking a shower and putting on his pajamas, Lin Luo went to find Ailand. Ailand was in the study, having already showered and changed, and was sitting at his desk in his home clothes, preparing to work on the documents on the screen.

A knock came at the door.

Ailand: "Please come in."

Lin Luo came in: "Are you still busy?"

Eland shook his head, gesturing for Lin Luo to sit down:

"It's just some post-war reports that need to be processed. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Lin Luo didn't sit down, but walked to the desk, placed his hands on the edge of the desk, leaned forward slightly, and looked serious.

"I'm here to talk to you about your mental state."

Ayland put down his electronic pen and looked at him intently: "Please speak."

Lin Luo: "The reassurance during the day was only temporary, right? And I've discovered a problem."

Aland asked, puzzled, "A problem?"

Lin Luo: "Hmm, I thought about it carefully. The first time on the warship, I just touched your wrist, and the effect seemed to be very obvious."

But today, holding your hands, I used even more force to barely suppress the surface of the riots.

Ayland's eyes flickered slightly:

"...Indeed, this time it was more...difficult than last time."

Lin Luo: "So I have a guess, I don't know if it's right, but could it be that your mental sea has developed a kind of 'resistance'? Or rather, has its threshold increased?"

Ayland frowned slightly: "Threshold?"

Lin Luo: "Yes! It's like taking medicine. At first, one pill works, but if you take too many, you may need two or three pills to achieve the same effect."

I worry that the effect of my reassurance on your mental state may diminish with repeated use.

To achieve the same effect, we'll likely need more extensive direct contact, and perhaps even... a deeper level of connection.

Aylander paused for a moment, then spoke in a low voice:

"Your guess makes a lot of sense; the mental sea can indeed undergo adaptive changes."

Thank you very much for noticing this detail. I will arrange for the military's most professional equipment to conduct precise testing and use the data to verify your hypothesis.

Lin Luo said, "Okay, professional equipment testing is more reliable, but if it's confirmed..."

We might have more contact, or...more intimate contact. Can you accept that?