Chapter 26: The Plan Begins

After a round of putting on a show, it finally ended. Li Daoran sank into the sofa, covering his face with a pillow.

“Tired?” Chen Ming relaxed as well and handed Li Daoran a slice of watermelon.

“Mm.” Li Daoran took the watermelon, bit into it, and mumbled a response.

“Thank you for your hard work, Daoran,” Natasha said softly.

Li Daoran didn't know how to respond, so he just ate his watermelon in silence.

After a while, Natasha tidied up the room, and the six of them sat together again.

“All right, here’s the plan going forward. We didn’t consider things carefully before, which led to you overexerting yourself. From now on, when you return to Azure Star, you can stay for a maximum of three hours,” Chen Ming said.

“This is the best arrangement we could calculate. If you stay on Azure Star too long, it could leave you awake and active for at least twenty hours straight. Considering that, your time on Azure Star must be strictly controlled. As for sleep aids, we have all options on file here.”

“When you return to Daoran’s world, these are your tasks. If you don’t understand anything, ask us directly. We have less than an hour, and you need to fall asleep as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. Take a look.” David took out a computer, opened a file, and handed it to Li Daoran.

——— Scene transition ———

Li Daoran opened his eyes to familiar surroundings and familiar faces.

He put on a fawning smile. “Good morning, Doctor Liu.”

Liu Meng was sitting by his bed, reading. Seeing him awake, she brushed her bangs aside and put down her book.

“Not bad, you’re not dead. But it was close,” she said.

Li Daoran offered an awkward smile. “Thank you, Doctor Liu.”

“You should go. I’ve already arranged a car for you. You can be sent back this afternoon,” Liu Meng said, pursing her lips.

“No, no, no, I’m not leaving,” Li Daoran quickly shook his head.

“I don’t want to see you drop dead here. You should just go. You’re not suited for this place.” Liu Meng hid her true feelings, her expression blank.

“Come on, I just got used to things here. Give me another chance.”

Rising abruptly from his sickbed, Li Daoran realized the clown was himself. He promptly abandoned his dignity and played the spoiled child.

“Nearly dying counts as getting used to it? You’re something else, little brother.” Liu Meng’s lips curled into a slight smile, as if amused by some private thought.

“Oh come on, good sister, it was just an accident!”

“You change quickly, don’t you? Did dying once make you see the light?”

“Good sister, let me ask you a favor. You have to help me out, or I’ll die here today.”

“Heh, men. What is it?” Liu Meng’s eyes crinkled into crescent moons as she smiled.

“It’s about the gene serum.”

“No discussion.”

“No, I don’t expect to get it for free. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Oh? What kind of person?”

“I’m not the kind who only takes advantage and never repays kindness. A drop of kindness deserves a spring in return.”

“Such fine words. Isn’t it still trying to get something for nothing?”

“No, no, hear me out. How about this: you lend me three doses of gene serum, split into thirty portions. I’ll use one portion per day. In a month, I’ll pay you sixty merit points. How about that?” Li Daoran pleaded sincerely.

“Twenty merit points per dose sounds like a good deal for me, but what if you don’t pay up in a month?”

“Would your good little brother deceive you?” Li Daoran fixed his big, pleading eyes on Liu Meng.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Liu Meng turned away.

Li Daoran grew anxious but didn’t know what else to do.

“I’ll agree. One month. If you don’t hand over sixty merit points, you’re out,” Liu Meng said, standing up and not looking at him.

Ecstatic, Li Daoran jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you, you’re the best!”

Liu Meng’s face flushed. She pushed him off and cleared her throat. Flustered, Li Daoran tried to explain, but she ignored him. Instead, she fetched the largest syringe, just like last time, drew out a tenth of a gene serum, grabbed Li Daoran’s arm, and jabbed it in.

Li Daoran sucked in a sharp breath; the needle went in at the wrong angle.

“Don’t move. See, you made me miss. Be good, little brother, don’t move.”

Three needles in a row, all off target. Li Daoran’s face twisted in pain. Liu Meng swapped for a new needle. “It must be the needle. Hold still.”

This time, the injection went in smoothly, but she pushed the serum in agonizingly slowly, as if she wanted him to savor the pain.

Pressing all four fingers to the four puncture marks, Li Daoran’s face was pale as he left the room. Inside, Liu Meng cleaned up the blood he’d splattered.

He glanced at his watch. Today’s task: a thousand push-ups in an hour—not yet done.

Looking at his arm, Li Daoran was on the verge of tears.

Instead of going back to the dorm to finish his training or study, he went to find Bear Mountain.

“Brother Bear, I have a question.”

Bear Mountain was currently training in a triple-gravity room, lifting a 10kg dumbbell. Li Daoran called out to him from outside, making him lose focus for a moment and nearly drop the weight on his foot. With a scowl, he shut off the gravity and came out.

He shot Li Daoran a look, but this time didn’t tell him to train. He just wiped his sweat and asked, “What is it? You have three minutes.”

“Well, Brother Bear, do we have any more of these watches?”

Bear Mountain frowned. “Why?”

“To study! I think one watch can only access one course, so it’s not efficient.”

“I’ll assign you another. Go pick it up from logistics,” Bear Mountain said generously. The watches weren’t important—logistics had plenty, since they wore them all the time and they broke frequently during training, so everyone usually had a spare.

So even though he found Li Daoran’s request odd, he agreed.

Li Daoran became urgent. “One’s not enough, Brother Bear. How about ten?”

Bear Mountain just stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“If not ten, maybe nine?”

“That’s not the issue. Why do you need so many?”

“I told you, to study!”

“You’re not joking?”

“Of course not.”

“You’re planning to study ten courses at once?” Bear Mountain started to wonder if Li Daoran suffered some kind of brain injury after fainting yesterday.

“That’s right. I’m a genius, Brother Bear. Do you know what a genius looks like?” Li Daoran pointed to himself, leaning forward so Bear Mountain could have a good look.

Bear Mountain placed his large palm over Li Daoran’s face and pushed him away.

“You must be crazy. And I must be a fool to believe you. Go get them from the quartermaster, just scan your watch,” Bear Mountain said, then turned and left without looking back.

Li Daoran waved and shouted after him, “Thank you, Brother Bear! I really am a genius. You’re not a fool at all!”

Bear Mountain’s forehead throbbed with veins, but he resisted the urge to turn back and beat Li Daoran, knowing he practiced ancient martial arts and would be a tough opponent. In fact, while their physical fitness was exceptional, fighting wasn’t their main focus—they were training to pilot mechs.

Piloting mechs required extraordinary physical ability, which eliminated most people outright. Once they met the physical requirements, all their energy went into mastering mech technology. No one would expect someone versed in ancient martial arts to take apart a mech with his bare hands.

And the primary purpose of this base was to cultivate mech warriors. That’s also why, since the gene serum experiment succeeded, it hadn’t been announced to the public, but was secretly tested on selected personnel in this base.